President Tinubu Orders Customs to Return Seized Food Items to Owners for Market Sale

In a move to alleviate the pressure on food prices and promote food security in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the Nigerian Customs Service to return all seized grains to their rightful owners for retailing in local markets.

The directive was announced by the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, during a stakeholder meeting held at Kwangwalam, a border town in the Maiadua Local Government Area of Katsina State on Saturday.

President Tinubu’s decision aims to ensure that Nigerians have access to affordable food items, contributing to the nation’s overall food security. The CGC emphasized that the return of confiscated food items is contingent upon their sale within the Nigerian markets.

Speaking on the rationale behind the directive, Adeniyi stated, “The whole idea is to promote food security and ensure that Nigerians will not be living with hunger, and Mr. President considers this as one of the strategies that can help address the problem of food security.”

Highlighting the impact of the seized food items on the market, Adeniyi noted, “We have over 120 trucks of food items for export seized, which means a lot of food items were taken out of our markets, leading to the unavailability that created some pressure on the prices of these food items. So, we hope that by the time we restock our markets, it will have some positive effects on the prices.”

In addition to the announcement, the CGC paid visits to former President Muhammadu Buhari in his country home of Daura and the emir of Daura, Dr. Umar Farouq Umar, in his palace. During these visits, he was honored with the traditional title of Mabudin Hausa by the emir.