The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said it had concluded arrangements to share seized food items among Nigerians.
The measure, NCS Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi said, is part of the agency’s commitment to implement President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s food security agenda and mitigate the soaring prices of staples across the country.
In a statement by its National Public Relations Officer (PRO), Abdullahi Maiwada, the NCS said the modalities for the disposal of the hygienic food items would be communicated through the agency’s formations nationwide.
The statement said the serve was committed to public health, transparency, and fairness.
It said: “In response to the critical challenges of food security and the soaring costs of essential food items in Nigeria, the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, reaffirms his commitment to advancing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s food security agenda.”
The commitment, the statement said, “is deeply rooted in the NCS’s core mandate of serving the best interests of the Nigerians, thereby fostering economic stability and prosperity”.
In line with the vision, he said the service, “has launched a strategic anti-smuggling operation and public engagement in its commitment to prevent the unlawful exportation of vital food resources for individual economic gains. This urgent imperative fuels the need for a proactive stance to safeguard food availability within our nation and alleviate the detrimental effects of scarcity on citizens”.
It added: “It is our pledge that this exercise will be managed diligently to ensure that the benefits reach those most in need.”