Senate Tasks CBN, Customs On Recovery Of N30bn Duty Waiver On Rice

The Senate has expressed readiness to revisit the controversial import duty waiver abuse for which about N30bn was alleged to have been lost.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki who stated this on Wednesday while briefing journalists after a three-hour meeting between the Senate and the management of the CBN, led by the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

The Senate has expressed readiness to revisit the controversial import duty waiver abuse for which about N30bn was alleged to have been lost.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki who stated this on Wednesday while briefing journalists after a three-hour meeting between the Senate and the management of the CBN, led by the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
The Senate President asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service for the purpose of retrieving about N30bn in waivers granted by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to some firms but used to fraudulently import rice into the country.
He said, “We must also show the big signals in things that will bring out the success of this policy; for example, you (CBN team) brought to our notice the issue of the waivers on taxes and duties, especially on rice, which is about N30bn, that were granted to certain companies; this money must be paid back to the Federal Government.
“We have mentioned this to the governor of the central bank. It will be our resolve too after we resume to get the Nigeria Customs Service to act on this. Even before that, we cannot be taking some of these top positions, while some people will get away and will not pay what they are supposed to pay, what they should return to government.
“We have told the governor of the CBN as well that he should go and collaborate with the Customs to ensure that this N30bn comes back to the government coffers so that we will be seen to be doing things to make this policy successful.”
Saraki explained that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was committed to the policy of import substitution, which was intended to encourage local production of some selected items like textiles and agricultural produce like rice, chicken and palm oil.
He said the policy was a right step to help the economy in the area of import and export substitution and pledged the support and cooperation of the Senate in that regard because the CBN alone could not make it to work.
“Secondly is the issue of smuggling, because no matter how good this policy on import substitution looks, if smuggling can still be going on the way it is now, this policy will not be successful,” the Senate President added.
He said the embarrassing level of smuggling being perpetrated by big time and known smugglers must be curtailed in line with the current administration’s zero tolerance for corruption.