The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has expressed willingness to partner with the Ebonyi State Government to curtail smuggling of foreign rice.
Mr Sulaiman Sani, the Area Comptroller, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra States made the pledge in Abakaliki on Thursday during a courtesy visit on the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chief Emmanuel Nwobo.
The comptroller said that the service would collaborate with state government to effectively enforce ban on the importation of foreign rice in the state.
Sani also gave the service assurance of arresting and prosecuting the suspected rice smugglers in the state.
He said that Ebonyi was the only state in the federation to announce a total ban on sales, consumption and importation of foreign rice within its domain.
The comptroller insisted that the ban would encourage local production and engage more youths in productive agricultural activities.
Sani said that the initiative would complement the Federal Government fiscal policy and economic diversification through agriculture.
“One of our core mandates is to promote and implement the Federal Government’s fiscal policy through revenue generation, suppression of smuggling of banned products, security and trade facilitation.
“Through trade facilitation, local producers are encouraged to produce their goods and services legitimately and have good return on their investments.
“We are going to ensure through a robust enforcement and implementation of the ban on sales of foreign rice in Ebonyi that no market or shop sells any foreign rice in any part of the state.
“We will go into the markets, arrest dealers on foreign rice, impound the commodity, charge and prosecute offenders in court.
“We will also effectively police border communities in Ebonyi to ensure that smugglers do not use the routes to smuggle foreign rice into the state,’’ Sani said.
The comptroller requested for office accommodation and operational vehicles to enhance the operations of the service in the state.
Responding, the commissioner thanked the comptroller for the visit, assuring him that the state government would do everything within its powers to enhance activities of the service in the state.
Nwobo also commended the customs for pledging collaboration with the state government to enforce the ban on sales and consumption of foreign rice in Ebonyi.
He informed the officials that the state government had doled out incentives to encourage local rice farmers in the state.
Nwobo said that the state was capable of meeting the rice consumption needs of the country through its well coordinated rice cultivation programme.
The commissioner said that no fewer than 20, 000 rice farmers had received improved rice seedlings for the 2018 planting season.
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