The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that the distribution of seized food items will commence on Friday (today).
In a statement issued to journalists in Lagos, the NCS Comptroller General, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that customs officials are not allowed to be involved in the process.
According to the statement issued through the service’s National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, Adeniyi stated that the rice will be packaged in 25kg bags and sold for N10,000.
The target groups, he said included artisans, teachers, nurses, religious bodies, and other Nigerians within its operational areas.
The aim, he said, is to establish direct communication with members through these structured systems in order to guarantee the utmost effectiveness of this initiative.
Adeniyi cautioned against the resale of food items, emphasizing that the NCS is fully dedicated to transparency and accountability throughout the entire process.
“It is imperative that beneficiaries of this exercise understand that the items are not to be resold. We take a strong stance against any form of profiteering or exploitation of this initiative. We urge Nigerians to report any incidents of misuse or unauthorised resale of the seized food items.
“We will not hesitate to take decisive action against any individuals or entities found to be in violation of the terms of this programme.
“We are here to shed light on the commitment of the NCS to protecting our society by ensuring the availability of essential food items. In recent months, the government has been addressing the challenges faced within our economy.
“Items are moving out massively to neighbouring countries. Some of the items included, over 20,000 bags of assorted grains, 2,500 cartons, and 963 bags of dried fish.
“Others are dried pepper, tomatoes, cooking oil, macaroni, salt, sugar, garri. This trend is not sustainable as it puts pressure on our productive capacity and threatens our food security,” the NCS Comptroller General said.
