The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ‘smuggling

  • Rice smuggling: FG to shut land border in few days

    The Federal Government says it will shut down the land border between Nigeria and a neigbouring country in a few days time to avoid smuggling of foreign rice into the country.

    Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, made the disclosure in Abuja on Monday while speaking with youths in a leadership clinic under the auspices of Guardians of the Nation International (GOTNI).

    Ogbeh who did not mention the particular country and border, said that shutting the borders had become necessary to encourage local production and sustain the economy of the country.

    The minister said that a neighbouring country was bent on destroying the economy of the country and discouraging local production of rice, hence the need to shut down the border.

    “Our other problem is smuggling. As we speak, a neighbor of ours is importing more rice than China is importing.

    “They do not eat parboiled rice, they eat white rice, they use their ports to try and damage our economy.

    “I am telling you now because in a few days, you will hear the border has been shut, we are going to shut it to protect you, us and protect our economy.

    “You will start seeing all sorts of negative things on the internet.

    “Let me tell you why we need to shut the border, I grow rice, I was the first Nigerian to mill rice free of stones, if you plant rice in certain parcels of land, some poisonous materials gets into the rice.

    “There are three kinds of water in their natural state; there is fresh water from the river, salt water from the sea, blackish water.

    “If you go to the Delta in many countries, in South East Asia where they grow the rice, if you plant rice in the same place like four to six years continuously, the quantum of arsenic begins to increase and arsenic causes cancer and that is what they are dumping for us.

    “Some people say they prefer Thai rice because they are very sophisticated, welcome to poison,’’ Ogbeh said.

    He said that the Federal Government in two years reduced rice importation by 95 per cent and increased the number of rice farmers from five million to 30 million.

    The minister said that states like Anambra, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Kano, Jigawa were doing well in rice production.

    “We just have to handwork you to prosperity otherwise, this country will not grow. My wish for you is to have a better time that we had,’’ Ogbeh said.

    The President of GOTNI, Dr Linus Okorie, commended the minister for sharing prosperity experiences with the youth.

    Okorie noted that the leadership clinic was organised by GOTNI to expose young people to practical leadership principle for life success.

    According to him, GOTNI is committed to changing the narratives of poor leadership in Nigeria by consciously developing the capacities of generational leaders.

    “A lot of young people are asking questions, seeking answers to their questions, wish that they have an experienced person who will hold them by the hands and show them the way to achieve success.

    “There are a few people that are readily available to do this; a lot of them are making decisions everyday on the basis of their limited exposure.

    “If Nigeria must make progress, if we must consciously build the next generation of leaders then, we must expose these young people to experienced leaders that have gone ahead for a conscious transfer of knowledge and experiences,’’ he said.

    Some of the youths who spoke at the meeting called for continuous mentorship from leaders, access to finance and low interest rates to assist them in businesses.

    GOTNI is a non-profit youth leadership capital development organisation with a passion to nurture various categories of young people under 40 years of age, into transformational leaders.

  • ‘Smuggling killing rice, poultry policies’

    Nigeria’s bid to be self-sufficient in rice and poultry production is being threatened by smugglers, investigation has revealed.

    Lagos and Ogun states are flooded with smuggled rice and frozen poultry products.

    From Seme border to Owode Idi Iroko, Alapoti, Atan and Sango Ota, in Ogun State, smugglers are using bush paths to ferry large quantities of rice and poultry products into the markets.

    The smugglers, Idi Iroko border sources said, are cashing-in on the high price of rice and chicken,  which are mostly consumed in many homes to bring them in.

    Rice and frozen poultry products’ business, investigation revealed, is booming because their importation is banned.

    A chicken farmer in Ogun State, Hammed Adegbesan, said about 1.2 million metric tonnes of poultry products were smuggled into the country yearly from Brazil and Asia.

    “Although the Federal Government banned the importation of poultry products, the policy has not been effective and made no real impact on actual foreign imports.

    ‘’As a result, those that have invested in the business have continued to suffer huge losses owing to their inability to sell off their stocks, which experts said, was a major setback to the Federal Government’s diversification drive through the agricultural sector,’’ he added.

    A visit to the boundary areas of Lagos and Ogun revealed that security operatives aid and abet the smuggling of these products.

    A frozen chicken trader, who asked not be named, alleged that their suppliers are Customs, police and military personnel.

    “Those that are selling the chicken to us are uniform people. Based on the economic downturn, many Nigerians prefer buying the imported frozen poultry products than the locally produced ones because they are cheaper, that is why we keep on seeing the items in all major markets despite the ban,’’ he said.

    According to Global Poultry Site, Nigeria produced about 340,000 metric tonnes of poultry products last year, and it is expected to grow by five per cent yearly.

    “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been warning Nigerians against the consumption of imported poultry products, threatening to take action against smugglers, or dealers found with the banned products but the agency is yet to prosecute any trader found with the banned items.

    Imported poultry products, especially chicken and turkey, have been identified as agents in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and antibiotics resistance. Some of these health conditions include, hypertension, kidney disease and cancer.

    Investigation revealed that the smuggled poultry products are kept on motor cycles, passenger buses and specially-refurbished vehicles heading for Lagos and Sango area of Ogun State.

    The imported frozen poultry products trader at the popular Owode Market in Ado-Odo Ota area, who refused to give her name, narrated the reason they are dealing on imported frozen chicken from Cotonou.

    “I lost a lot of money when the vehicle bringing my rice to the town was impounded by Customs in December. The period was a very bad to me. But in February, my friend introduced me to the fish business and I decided to try it. My experience is that there is not much attention on fish like rice, and the profit we make on fish is higher than that of rice. The highest profit anybody can make on rice is between N100 and N150 per 50kg bag, while we make between N700 and N1000 on 20kg cartoon of frozen chicken,” she said.

    She said the demand for chicken   is so high that ‘business people’ continue to travel long distances from inland towns and risk being arrested to smuggle children and turkey in.

    Every Thursday and Friday, she said traders flock to Cotonou and other neighbouring countries to buy frozen poultry products and smuggle them in through the Gbaji and Ere river.

    Investigation at the paths leading to the border at Idi-Iroko are porous, necessiting  checks by Customs.

    Customs, investigation revealed, also needs to do a lot to track down of the poultry products and rice smugglers and stop their illicit business by embarking on effective border patrol as the smugglers are using various vehicles to bring the items to Sango and Alaba Ravi markets day and night

  • Special squad uncovers new smuggling technique

    Special squad uncovers new smuggling technique

    The surveillance unit of the compliance team of Comptroller General of Customs has uncovered a new technique used by a syndicate to smuggle rice, second hand vehicles, deodorant, vegetable oil and used tyres into country.

    The syndicate, according to sources, had been using 40- ft containers to deceive Customs men while bringing in contrabands. The container is usually divided into two, using the inner side of it to store smuggled poultry products while the exterior was kept empty; the inner container has an iron door welded to it.

    At the Customs check-points, the smugglers would quickly open the exterior which is empty to the officers on duty. It will however took the ingenuity of the officers at the check-points to detect  that a big space created inside the big container for the purpose of smuggling.

    Most of the containerized goods seized according to sources were also based on wrong declarations while their means of conveyance were not left out.

    It was learnt that the discovery of the smuggling trick has led to seizure of contraband worth over N5 billion in the last nine months.

    It was also gathered that the surveillance unit in the last two weeks made seizures with Duty Paid Value (DPV) totalling N70 million.

    The Head of the Surveillance Unit, Chief Superintendent Hassan Bello said his men had been trailing those behind the syndicate for about six months until the middle of this month when they were finally arrested.

    Bello said two suspects arrested in connection with these trade malpractices are in their custody.

    It will be recalled that the Customs Unit recently impounded two trucks of foreign parboiled rice smuggled into Lagos through one of the busy trading corridors with 816 used tyres.

    Drugs worth millions of naira including Newdol Diclofenac, Sodium capsules, Analgesic /anti-inflammatory and Chaka pain Diclofenac (50mg) and Jimbuwol, were also intercepted while they were being taken to the eastern part of the country.

    A source said: ”Just few months ago, the Surveillance Unit intercepted more than 20 Sports Utility Vehicles worth more than N20 billion. They still parked at the Customs training school Ikeja, with no owners coming forward to claim them.

    ”One other spectacular seizure made by the Unit include 72 containers of wood heading for export at the Premier Port, Apapa. After examination, 51 containers were discovered to be unprocessed wood which by Nigerian law is prohibited for export while 21 containers were found to be processed wood and qualified for export.

  • ETLS: Conduit for palm oil’s smuggling

    ETLS: Conduit for palm oil’s smuggling

    The conception of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) was to facilitate trade within the sub-region. But this window is being used by unscrupulous elements as a veritable channel for perpetrating their crimes against the economy. Correspondent OLUWAKEMI DAUDA reports how ‘importers’ are shortchanging Nigeria’s revenue earnings and putting the nation’s industries in dire strait.

    Palm oil is an edible oil derived from the palm fruits from the African oil palm tree. Oil palms are originally from Western Africa, but can flourish wherever heat and rainfall are abundant, especially in the Tropical climate. Today, palm oil is grown throughout Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, with 85 per cent  of its global production and export from Indonesia and Malaysia, which on record took the first seed from Nigeria.

    In early 60s, Nigeria was the largest producer of palm oil in the world with a market share of 43 per cent. According to stakeholders in the agricltural sector of the economy, Nigeria last year, sadly now had a world share of 2.9 per cent, with Indonesia leading by 33 million metric tonnes, Malaysia, 19.8 million metric tonnes; Thailand, 2 million; Colombia, 1.108 million metric tonnes and Nigeria, 970,000 metric tonnes.

    Before the advent of crude oil, Nigeria was the number one producer of the commodity in the world as palm oil contributed about 65 to 70 per cent of her total revenue. But the story is not the same today, as stakeholders alleged that some government officials are working against massive production of palm oil to enrich their pockets from imported ones.

    Allegation of officials of Federal Ministry of Finance conniving with importers to shortchange the government

    At the stakeholders’ meeting held by the Federal Ministry of Finance ( FMoF) in December, last year, it was unanimously agreed that no company must be allowed to import large quantity of Crude Palm Oil ( CPO) and refined products under Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).

    But speaking with The Nation, a senior official of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, who craved anonymity alleged that some companies, in connivance with some senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance,  are planning to import palm oil from Cote D’Ivoire, using ETLS  as a decoy to evade duty and enrich their pockets at the detriment of the nation, its people and the economy.

    The official said: “We are aware and sad to inform you, alert Nigerians and the Federal Government  that some top officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance are conniving with importers to import palm oil from Cote D’Ivoire to evade duty and kill local industries.

    “Investigation conducted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture revealed that  Cote D’Ivoire has no excess CPO to export and that is why Ghana is importing massively from other countries. What they intend to do is to destabilise the enduring palm oil policy environment and upturn the gains Nigerian palm oil industry has achieved in the five to 10 years,” the official said.

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the official said, is concerned about the damning and screaming reports about massive importation of palm oil into the country through the sea ports and the land borders inspite of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) policy.

    CBN’s policy and 35% duty

    The current tariff regime of 10 per cent duty and 25 per cent levy on importation of palm oil and the inclusion of palm oil in the list of commodities that do not qualify for the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) forex allocation, official said,  have been protecting the local  industries like Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc; Presco Plc; WSNL; Aden River Estate; IMC; JB Farms; Agripalm; National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), and the Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria, representing the interest of small scale producers that account for about 80 per cent palm oil production in the country. The 35 per cent tarrifs imposed by the government, the official said, would not be paid by those that are planning the palm oil through the ETLS scheme despite the fact that palm oil industries are bouncing back in the country to meet the local need.

    Moribund oil palm plantations coming back to life

    Investigation conducted by The Nation revealed that some of  the moribund oil palm plantations across the country are now bouncing back and some fringe states such as Kogi, Kaduna and Nasarawa are also into genuine palm oil business to boost the diversification efforts of the current administration.

    Diversification efforts of the government

    Findings revealed that the plan to import 95,000 Metric Tonnes ( MT) and 60,000MT of of crude palm oil, with 50,000 MT of Palm Faty Acid  Distillates under the ETLS by a company (name withheld) in connivance with officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance, may sabotage the economic diversification efforts of the Federal Government because all palm oil producing countries in West Africa also import crude palm oil from Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries.

    “Therefore, the ongoing attempt to import palm oil under the guise of ETLS  must be thwarted by President Muhammadu Buhari administration. No official of the government must be allowed by President Buhari to give  official stamp to smuggling and commit economic sabotage against Nigerians and her people. The interest of all Nigerians and not the privilege view should be paramount,” the official of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture said.

    Nigeria is now a net importer of palm oil:

    Nigeria is now a net importer of palm oil. According to IndexMundi, a data portal, the domestic palm oil produced in 2014 was 930,000 MT. The growth in oil palm has regretably stagnated at 930,000 MT since 2013. Palm oil consumption in Nigeria amounts to 2.0 million MT per annum. The unconfirmed official figures state that the shortage in oil palm industry is estimated to be around 1,070,000 MT annually.

    The official of the ministry of agriculture said the importers are using the figure to deceive the government to import what the country has the potential to produce locally despite the current exchange rate.

    High exchange rate:

    Investigation has revealed that despite the high exchange rate, Nigeria imported over 450,000 tons of crude palm oil valued at N116.3billion ($323.1 million) last year. The shipment was increased by 12 per cent as global price hit $718 per metric ton.

    The price of the commodity, which was $663 per metric ton in July, was increased to  $718  per ton in November last year, based on  high demand  by indigenous manufacturers.

    Vessels berted at Lagos ports

    Findings from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have revealed that Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) at Lagos Port Complex took delivery of 4,000 tons from Lady Dahlia in the first week of November, while Hamour Endurance also shipped 5,000 tons  to JosepDam terminal, Tincan  Island Port, Lagos.

    In August last year, three vessels berthed at the Lagos Port Complex and Tincan with 32, 483 tons of the essential commodity.

    At ABTL were GSW Forward and Marios G ships, laden with 16,300 tons and  11,483 tons respectively. Another ship Theresa Success, investigation showed, also offloaded 5,000 tons of the product at JosepDam terminal in Lagos.

    Findings also revealed that between January and April last year, 50,010 tons of the commodity was shipped into the country.

    According to imvestigation at the Lagos Port, SeaPrice ship discharged 15,000 tons in January; Chemtrans Havel ship, 10,700 tons in February; Star Ploeg ship, 16,400 tons in  March and  Mid Nature ship, 8,000 tons in April last year.

    New cargo protection service

    Following the surge and high demand for palm oil by Nigeria and Ghana last year, a shipping line, CMA CGM in August last year, imposed a new cargo protection service for shipments of the commodity into the country.

    The protection service attracted an automatic prepaid surcharge of $10 per container. It would be recalled that the shipping line noted that the surcharge was a new tailor-made cargo protection service for palm oil shipments from Indonesia and Malaysia.

    However, the company said all palm oil exporters would be compensated with up to $10,000 in the event of loss or damage of cargo during transportation.

    It added that export from Indonesia and Malaysia ports to other Africa countries would attract a prepaid surcharge of $10 per 20 feet container and $10 per 40 feet container.

    Palm oil and CBN’s forex allocation promoting local production

    Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON) has blamed importation and smuggling of palm oil into the country as factors crippling local production in Nigeria.

    Speaking at a joint press conference in Lagos on stemming the tide of rising crude palm oil imports into the country,  POFON Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Ibru, said the 35 per cent tariff on importation of palm oil and the inclusion of palm oil in the CBN’s list of commodities that do not qualify for foreign exchange allocation have been responsible for growth in the sector as well as protecting the industry from saboteurs.

    Ibru alleged that some West African countries are importing palm oil destined for Nigerian market, which he said, would deprived the country its revenue in the form of duties from such imports based on the ECOWAS scheme.

    ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS)

    Investigation has revealed that majority of companies operating in Nigeria import from the ECOWAS states at zero duty. But the level of production in the ECOWAS states is not high enough to support the quantity of crude palm oil (CPO) imported in those states, but rather, some companies are importing through the ECOWAS states and bringing it in through informal channels without paying any duty to government. More than 50per cent of total import in Nigeria is from ECOWAS at zero duty. These are areas that the government must turn its search light on to ensure that all imported CPO pass through the right channel and the payment of the 35per cent duty to increase government revenue.

    Ibru criticised the ETLS, describing it as an indirect application for waivers by importers of crude palm oil and other prohibited items. He challenged the government to be resolute in its promise not to grant import waivers. Noting that Nigeria produces enough palm oil for local consumption, the POFON Chairman called on stakeholders to tackle the issue of non-competitiveness to take the industry to greater heights.

    “According to reports, some companies have been importing palm oil illegally into Nigeria under the disguise of the West African Trade Liberalisation Scheme and this is tantamount to economic sabotage,”Ibru said

    Customs to conduct forensic audit of all imports

    Findings have shown that major importers of CPO: Nigeria and Benin Republic, import 450,000MT and 470,000MT of palm oil per annum, respectively. Security sources claim that most of Benin Republic’s CPO imports find their way into Nigeria through informal channels as Benin exports close to 390,000 MT of palm oil annually. Thus, actual shortage of CPO could be as high as 940,000 MT if the exports from Benin Republic are taken into consideration.

    Ibru called on the Nigeria Customs Service to conduct a forensic audit of all imports, including ETLS imports to identify the defaulters and get them to make refunds to the government, empahsising that if duties were paid, it would not be profitable to import palm oil.

    On his part, POFON Executive Secretary, Mr. Fatai Afolabi, lamented that traders and importers fought to remove palm oil from the Import Prohibition List, a situation that has seen a consistent increase in importation over the last 10 years.

    No accurate data from government agencies

    Ibru regretted that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and other relevant government agencies have not been able to provide data on the industry, forcing stakeholders to rely on data provided by foreign agencies such as Index Mundi, whose data are sometimes outdated. Noting that Nigeria requires 450,000 tonnes to make up for her annual production shortfall, he lamented that Nigeria imports more than the shortfall, making the country a dumping ground for imported palm oil.

    No West African country has the capacity to export palm oil into Nigeria

    Afolabi stressed that no West African country has the capacity to export palm oil into Nigeria, adding that Nigeria is a major importer of oil from Malaysia.

    The POFON Secretary blamed the high cost of local production on security, poor infrastructure, stipends for traditional rulers by producers, transportation costs, poor electricity supply, community development by producers, a situation, which he said makes locally produced oil less competitive in price.

    Shortchanging Nigeria and Nigerians

    While commending government’s transparency in the implementation of its policies, he, however, urged the government to take a holistic look at the objectives of the ETLS to ensure that the country is not being shortchanged.

    In his address, President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), Henry Olatujoye, accused businessmen of setting up refineries in countries close to Nigeria used as channels through which rejected oil from other parts of the world, especially Malaysia are exported to Nigeria.

    He noted that POFON had in 2015 reached an agreement with the CBN on the imposition of a 35 per cent duty on all imports, removal of waivers on oil imports and the exclusion of crude palm oil from the ETLS.

     Importers use  paucity of production data to deceive government

    National President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), Henry Olatujoye, an engineer, said  domestic and industrial consumption of oil in the country stands at 2.8 million tonnes annually, while production stands at 1.8 million tonnes. He accused Indian investors of taking advantage of the paucity of production data to deceive government into allowing imports, adding that such investors falsely labelled Nigerian oil as expensive and of poor quality.

    The NPPAN President noted that Nigeria is the fifth largest producer of palm oil in the world after Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Colombia, and that local production has been on the increase in recent years in the country.

    POFON is an umbrella body of private investors in plantation agriculture, especially oil palm in Nigeria. Its members include NPPAN, the Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) and other major palm oil producers.

    Support from government

    For Nigeria to meet the shortfall in local usage of crude palm oil and be self-sufficient, Nigeria needs about 300,000 hectares of land. This no doubt is huge and requires the support of government through its Ministry of Agriculture by providing suitable and adequate land for willing investors to invest in large estate plantations in the country.

    Over $20 billion required

    The road to being self-sufficient is a long one as whopping $10billion will be required and a minimum of 20 years of palm tree planting at a very large scale and after 20 years demand will be much more than it is, so investment for plantation needs to be much higher and at the same time, the government needs to allocate that much land for plantation, which is not likely to happen soon.

    It is important for the government to realise that local prices are much higher because of high reliance on local plantation. These high prices are passed on to the consumer. For now, importation of palm oil serves as the best alternative to the low quantity produced in the country, pending the development of large estate plantations.

    Public health

    Findings have shown that desperate  food producers use non quality imported palm oil thereby jeopardising public health and safety. This is the more reason the Federal Government must encourage local production and ensure that the 35 per cent tariff on the importation of the commodity is met by all importers.

    Palm oil as a consumable item

    Majority of palm oil is consumed by food industry and the remaining  used by the non-food industry. Foods, such as seasoning cubes, vegetable oil, biscuits, chips, margarines, shortenings, cereals, baked stuff, washing detergents and cosmetics, thrive on palm oil. Based on the need for availability of sufficient oil palm in the Nigerian market, the Federal Government needs to encourage local farmers to end the illegal importation and smuggling of palm oil into the country.

  • Rice, smuggling and shadow-chasing

    Rice, smuggling and shadow-chasing

    The news, by the January 18 issue of The Nation, was sad: a commuter, Toaheeb Olayiwola, whose wife a few days earlier gave birth, was killed allegedly by shots from the Customs patrol.

    On this lone tragic incident, three stories have come out.

    One, from the bus driver, Ajayi Olayinka, who claimed he was not involved in smuggling but was only moving eight bags of rice to Agege, for a trader, as he does almost everyday in a his Sango-Agege route.  He painted the picture of a bullying and unruly Customs personnel, that not only brutalized him, but also shot indiscriminately, so much to that one person fell from the bullets, while a few others were injured.

    The Field Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A, Ikeja, from where the Customs patrol came, gave a diametrical opposed account.  By their tale, the driver of the bus, in their view guilty as charged and spoiling for a fight, was the one to blame.

    He not only allegedly parked near the Abule Egba flyover, where he could recruit a sympathetic mob to face down the Customs patrol, he also allegedly incited the mob to violence.

    According to their account, that was what led to the shooting — and the

    Customs men, as dutiful, patriotic and lawful officers, honourably withdrew from the scene, when the atmosphere was becoming charged.  Apparently in their patriotic escape, they didn’t notice any fatality, and indeed, thanked God, in their empathetic release, that no life was lost!

    Incidentally, it was only the Customs’ account that denied the death of Taoheeb Olayiwola.  The police account, tallied with the bus driver’s story, that a passenger fell by the Customs patrol bullets.  But it corroborated the two accounts’ tale of Customs patrol chasing a bus suspected to be smuggling rice.

    Why would Customs play dumb to the death of a citizen, in the heat of their operation?  Nobody knows for sure, and it’s left to independent agencies to probe and get to the root of the matter.

    But when rogue elements of the state embark on illegal killings, they often weave a yearn to divert attention from the crime.  That is why the Police should investigate this incident.

    If the patrol was innocent, let the members be cleared.  But if they are culpable, let them face the law.  Plucking off defenceless citizens, with state bullets, in a crowded urban area, is absolutely unacceptable.

    But aside from crime and punishment, the anti-smuggling procedure must be reexamined.  The patrol did fine by following intelligence of alleged smuggling by a commercial bus.  But it did wrong by being free with its arms, since neither the driver nor the passengers were armed.

    Still, there exists a ubiquitous motorized smuggling ring, which doesn’t need any especial intelligence to uncover.  You could tell by the awkwardness of the vehicles: the back tyres  abnormally raised, the glass at the rear, as well as those of the two back doors, are sealed off with metal panels. With the removal of every seat, apart from the driver’s, the car is a deep cavern for smuggled goods — most times, rice! These criminals make a near-daily sortie, at times moving in a convoy, to Daleko market, Mushin, and other markets, where they discharge their loot.

    So, how come the Customs patrol seldom go after these unfazed smugglers but avidly dash after a commercial bus with all its risks to innocent lives?

    Something clearly must be fishy!

  • NARTO warns tanker drivers against aiding fuel smuggling

    NARTO warns tanker drivers against aiding fuel smuggling

    The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, has warned Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), a branch of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), against conniving with  petroleum products smugglers, noting that anyone caught doing so would face the consequences.

    The body urged the National Assembly to not scrap the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), warning  that this would worsen fuel distribution crisis across the country.

    In his address at the PTD Branch Executive Council meeting,     NARTO President, Alhaji Kassim Bataiya, insisted that the role of PEF in fuel distribution was vital.

    Bataiya said: “We cannot overemphasise the important and invaluable contribution of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund to the availability and accessibility of Petroleum products at the government approved prices to every citizen wherever they are residing.

    ”In fact, it would have been extremely difficult, if not practically impossible, for citizens in far Northwest, Northeast and some interior places in the Southwest, east and even Southsouth to have access to petroleum products and buy it at the approved prices, if Petroleum Equalisation Fund had not been in existence.”

    “So, we want to use this opportunity to say it will be rather unfortunate if the statement is true, considering the pivotal roles of PEF in the effective and efficient distribution of petroleum products in the country. We earnestly urge Senator Marafa and members of the National Assembly to rethink this matter to avoid worsening and compounding fuel distribution crisis in the country.”

    Bataiya also called on drivers not to allow themselves to be used by smugglers of petroleum products.

  • Still on smuggling

    •Closure of Dangote’s tomato plant shows the stark danger this poses to the economy

    Business is more of brick-and-mortar; and less the flight of enchanting literature. Yet, the shutdown of the Dangote tomato processing plant in Kano cannot but echo the poet Geoffery Chaucer’s quip, in his Prologue to Canterbury Tales: if gold rusts, what would iron do?

    The Dangote Group, in terms of market presence and capitalisation, would appear one of the sturdiest integrated conglomerates in the Nigerian market today. Yet, even Dangote has taken a terrible hit from the smuggling of cheaper alternatives into the Nigerian market.

    If the mighty Dangote can wail as a victim, how many punier players could smuggling have quietly destroyed and eliminated from the market, thus compounding the employment crisis?

    Sani Dangote, Vice President of the Dangote Group of Companies, just announced the conglomerate’s Kano plant, designed to process tomato purée and allied products, had taken a knock from some 30 industries that import tomato paste from China. The resultant rock-bottom pricing has made Dangote’s products uncompetitive, hence, the shutdown of the Kano firm.

    Mr. Dangote claimed China crashed the price of the commodity by 50 per cent. This, he further explained, rendered nugatory the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy to cease selling foreign exchange for importing tomato paste, a step aimed at protecting the local tomato processing firms.

    Insisting that the five per cent tariff was too low to keep the rampaging importers of tomato purée at bay, the Dangote Group Vice President called on the Federal Government to impose a total ban on tomato paste.

    It also asked the government to specifically discourage importation from foreign firms, which set up shops in neighbouring countries’ free trade zones, and invade, from there, the Nigerian market, hiding behind the ECOWAS trade protocol.

    That, he reasons not illogically, subverts the Buhari government’s core policy of rewarding the sweat of local farmers; and making Nigerians grow what they eat and eat what they grow, to save scarce foreign exchange for infrastructure upgrade and other pressing sectors of the economy.

    The Dangote rally for economic nationalism, towards driving Nigerian farming and farmers to hitherto unknown heights of productivity, success and prosperity, is laudable. The government must protect the local tomato industry. At every point, the emphasis should be giving farmers a good deal; and protecting the interest of the final consumer, in terms of fair pricing.

    So, smuggling should be tackled with every might the government can muster.  Once upon a time, there was a vibrant Nigerian textile industry that employed thousands of Nigerians in the Kano-Kaduna belt, with other cities like Lagos putting in a decent showing. But smuggling has laid everything almost to waste. In the industrial wastelands that now pass for those hitherto glorious times, you could feel the echo of your own breath! That is the death knell by smuggling.

    That must not be allowed to plague the future of agriculture, especially now that it is being developed as a viable mix and mass employer in a diversified economy; from the mono-product of petroleum.

    But apart from the havoc smuggling does to a sector, it also corrodes and destroys the financial value chain. If a loan turns bad, because smuggling has killed a once-promising prospect, capital is trapped; and there is a disincentive to banks to extend the credit line — and which modern economy thrives without a vibrant credit line?

    Agricultural processing is a near-perfect model for the Nigerian economy — from vast arable land, to huge processing facilities and on to an even huger potential market, to jump-start the re-industrialisation of the country; and provide tens of thousands of jobs for the teeming youth. Smuggling must not be allowed to cripple this new start.

  • ‘Over-regulated business atmosphere will only lead to increased smuggling’

    The need to improve the ease of doing business, balancing regulations of products with health hazards, with particular reference to tobacco use and the need for the organised private sector to get involved in the business of lawmaking, were some of the major issues thrown up Tuesday, at a breakfast policy dialogue, organised by the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis held at the Protea Hotel, Isaac John, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Dr Vincent Nwani, Director, Research and Advocacy, Lagos Chamber of Commerce, speaking on the topic, ‘Regulations Undoing Diversification of economy’ cited Nigeria’s poor global rankings in strategic indices such as ease of doing business, security, stability of laws, infrastructure and economic competitiveness as some of the major factors that will always hamper the country’s quest for economic diversification.

    He cited a case where an importer needs as many as 23 signatures to clear goods and 33 to export, as great militating factors to economic growth. The fallout of these cumbersome trade policies, he said, is the gain of countries like Benin Republic, as importers resort to berthing their goods there – a direct loss to the nation’s economy.

    A senior research fellow in Health Economics at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, Dr Damilola Olajide, who gave a presentation on the topic, ‘Balancing Regulations Vs Product Health Hazards,’ which focused on the regulations on tobacco use, advocated lowering of nicotine content in cigarettes, as a way of preventing addiction, and getting tobacco companies to be more responsible to the damages their products cause, as against strangulating them out of business.

    Olajide, whose research contributed to the banning of smoking in public places in Scotland in 2006, is a specialist in micro-economic analysis of interventions towards reducing health inequalities resulting from the impact of lifestyle choices, such as smoking and alcohol, therefore called for caution and a redirection in the nation’s laws and regulations on tobacco use.

    Rather than go for a blanket implementation of the World Health Organisation’s convention framework for tobacco control, he advocated a localised approach, especially as the industry, notwithstanding, contributes a great deal to the nation’s economic indices.

    Besides, he noted that available data in the country does not support an overly regulated tobacco industry.

  • Customs special squad restrategises, busts smuggling syndicate

    Customs special squad restrategises, busts smuggling syndicate

    The Comptroller- General of Customs’ Compliance team has intercepted contrabands including 20 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) worth over N1.6 billion, rice  and thick woods worth N100 million over the last 15 months, in the anti-smuggling war.

    The Nation learnt that the feat recorded by the special squad was due to its renewed tactics and onslaught against smugglers by the surveillance unit of the compliance team.

    Smugglers had enjoyed a field day until the special squad was inaugurated by Col Ahmadu Ali (rtd) shortly after he took office recently as Comptroller General of Customs.

    The team headed by Deputy Comptroller Jalo, recorded fairly impressive seizures until it was rested, giving way for a new leadership headed by Comptroller Azarema.

    The introduction of a Surveillance Unit headed by Chief  Superintendent Bello, into the team a few months ago, however rejigged the anti-smuggling operations in the Western axis.

    The land borders have become inaccessible to the dare-devil smugglers as brand new vehicles; large scale imported rice and other items have been impounded through impeccable intelligence of the surveillance unit.

    The team’s efforts have also reduced sharp practices at the seaports as officers who release uncustomed goods already know that such goods would be intercepted enroute to their destination by anti-smuggling outfit.

    The Comptroller General can beat his chest that his management has met one of its cardinal mandates of curbing the tide on rice smuggling which is government’s own policy to boost local production. With a record of 497,279 bags of rice seized in two years, the service can now celebrate.

    It will be recalled that three trucks loaded with foreign rice, 1,198 kegs of vegetable oil, and second hand tyres worth more than N200 million have been intercepted in the last two weeks by the compliance team.

    The smugglers had used ‘Labana’ bags belonging to a local rice producer in Kebbi State to repackage foreign rice in order to deceive beat Customs’ checks.

    The Surveillance Unit of the CG’s compliance team led by Chief Superintendent Bello, however uncovered the trick and intercepted the products along Lagos-Ibadan trade axis.

    Also intercepted were other local bags like ‘’Tommy-Tommy,’’Rev Star and Arosa Elephant used to repackage the rice imported from Thailand.

    An officer, who spoke anonymously with our correspondent said: ‘’The bags of rice were moved into Lagos and the western parts using the creeks around Iyana Satch, and Agbuju areas of Lagos State. They print the Stallion/Elephant bags and fill them with foreign smuggled rice, a practice that runs counter to government economic policy.’’

  • LCCI: Review rice tariff to curb smuggling

    LCCI: Review rice tariff to curb smuggling

    The Federal Government should consider a downward review of the tariff on rice to curb its smuggling, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said.

    Its Director-General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said rice smuggling has continued to thrive, in spite of the ban on the commodity, due to high import tariff.

    “Rice is not contraband, you can import rice. What has created the smuggling problem with rice is the tariff and that is what is driving the smuggling. If you take it through the port irrespective of where you source your forex from, you have to pay 70 per cent levy.

    “If you have a product coming through the official channel at 70 per cent, there cannot be better incentive to smuggling than that. So, that is why rice is coming from all over the place,” Yusuf said, in Lagos, during the week.

    He dismissed the claim by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, that the country would be self sufficient in rice production and would no longer import rice by 2018 as mere academic and not in tune with reality.

    His words: “The Minister said we will be self sufficient in rice production in 2018, but that is just academic. There is nothing on ground empirically. It is desirable, but in terms of empirical evidence, I don’t think it is something achievable.

    “If you do a proper and empirical assessment of the rice market today, the market share of smuggled rice is bigger than the share of rice that is produced locally. So, this is part of the trade policy challenges that we have.

    “It is a popular thing to say that we have to grow rice; the import duty should be high so that we can grow local rice. It is a very patriotic statement to make, but the reality is completely different and policy should align with reality so that we don’t just make policies in vain.”

    The LCCI boss said it was important that the government policy makers got their facts right. “I have heard some government officials say the bulk of the rice in the country is Nigerian rice but that is not correct. The moment we start thinking that way, then we will not do what we need to do,” he said.

    According to him, what is required is to deploy policies to improve productivity in rice production.