The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) thursday expressed concern over the substandard rice imported into the country during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, lamenting that the rice is sometimes harmful to the human system.

They said huge consignment of rice still finding its way into the market was imported into Nigeria since 2014 when the Jonathan administration issued a very liberal import licence regime to its election financiers who were able to bring a substantial quantity of rice into the country using a waiver from the presidency at the time.

The 36 governors spoke in a statement issued by the Head, Media and Public Affairs of the NGF Abulrazaque Bello- Barkindo, which called on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to expeditiously take measures to arrest the situation.

The governors claimed that while some bulk of the consignment was stale, others were either rejected in other countries or had overstayed in various warehouses before they found their way into Nigeria through the activities of some unscrupulous elements.

While summoning the customs to shed light on the matter, the governors expressed concern that Nigerians were either falling sick or losing their lives to the consumption of these substandard produce even though some states have commenced elaborate efforts to produce rice in commercial quantity with a view to halting Nigeria’s over-reliance on staples that can be produced locally.

The Governors, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) frowned at the situation where Nigerians snubbed locally-produced commodity in preference for foreign ones which were most of the time, stale, contaminated or even fake.

Meanwhile, in a brief to the governors’ forum, the NCS Comptroller-General through the Deputy Comptroller-General, Dangaladima Aminu, stated that although there is an upsurge in the smuggling of rice through the nation’s land borders, there has been no alteration to the prohibition on the importation of rice through Nigeria’s land borders and that any quantity of rice which finds its way into Nigeria through land routes was smuggled.

He noted that rice was usually smuggled into the country through unauthorised border routes which span more than 4,000km and that the smugglers were aided by border communities who alternated between motorcycles, canoes and rafts to smuggle contraband rice into the country.

Aminu added: “Your excellencies, it may interest you to note that a motorcycle can make up to 30 trips with six 50kg bags of rice per night depending on the distance and when the border communities are not smuggling the produce themselves, they are aiding or providing cover for smugglers.”

He, however, added that rice merchants had recorded huge losses as a result of seizures by the customs. He disclosed that in 2014 customs seized 12,000 metric tons of the commodity, 4,503 tonnes in 2015 and 14,000metric tons in 2016.

Aminu informed the governors that the customs “takes the issue of smuggling of rice seriously, having identified the danger posed by it to the economic well-being and health hazards it constitutes to the Nigerian people.”


https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/06/02/governors-accuse-jonathans-govt-of-importing-substandard-rice-during-electioneering/

O my God...... you use all the fire extinguisher to put off fire from the door mat in your house and you are fanning yourself while your entire house is engulf in fire

Sighs.

Id!ots will soon come to defend their god.

Jonathan this,Jonathan that.only an irresponsible government indulge in blame games.Bunch of failures

Blame games irritate me a lot. if someone does something unlawful, prosecute the person.

nextprince:
Id!ots will soon come to defend their god.

You are one of the reasons why Nigeria is where it is. That you heard or read about this nonsense and what you come here to say is that "some idiots will soon come to defend their god. Jonathan left government two year ago. So even if GEJ imported substandard rice, which is a very big lie, the rice would have been sold out long before today why coming up now to say this. More so it has never been reported anywhere from 2015 that some Nigerians were sick because they consumed substandard rice. If you truly love Nigeria you will not be saying this.

nextprince:
Id!ots will soon come to defend their god.

the inability to decipher between reality and propaganda



to weigh and out weigh possibility

to verify probability of news actually being true before reactions


is a disability your comment possessed

Gej still giving APC headache after 2yrs

How come none of the beneficiaries never complained of its substandardness?

Hopeless, useless, confused daft apc regime!

[s]

mykelmeezy:



the inability to decipher between reality and propaganda



to weigh and out weigh possibility

to verify probability of news actually being true before reactions


is a disability your comment possessed

[/s]
Trying to sound intelligent, sorry you are not.

southsouthman:


You are one of the reasons why Nigeria is where it is. That you heard or read about this nonsense and what you come here to say is that "some idiots will soon come to defend their god. Jonathan left government two year ago. So even if GEJ imported substandard rice, which is a very big lie, the rice would have been sold out long before today why coming up now to say this. More so it has never been reported anywhere from 2015 that some Nigerians were sick because they consumed substandard rice. If you truly love Nigeria you will not be saying this.

He only loves his BMC salary!

Demolaeby:
Give us our Jonatan's substandard rice again at 7500naira per bag and eat your Buhari's Standard rice at 21,000naira per bag

It was even sold at 6,500 NGN.

Pls give us the substandard rice. Id1ots!

kahal pls what is the disease associated with eating substandard rice? I ate that rice alot back then ...

Jus listent to these ppl.. So Nigerians have been eating substandard rice for 3yrs now abi? GEJ imported d rice into other countries and den gave permission to smuggle dem into dis country? If by substandard rice u mean Mama Gold and Caprice which were some of d best rice ever liveth is it these "EBA " rice dat are in d market now DAT are standard ones? Imagine d idiots claiming Nigerians are dying daily because of rice? Dis govt has killed more ppl than mosquitoes already with how bad dey've made things.. Jumping into lagoon is now d order of d day... Ask sarrki

nextprince:
[s][/s] Trying to sound intelligent, sorry you are not.

go back to writing jamb

this morning, ask yourself have you blamed Jonathan?

R

Ok

We don tired to dey hear blames...



Governors abeg make huna work for us....

3years after they are still eating the rice and falling ill?


A dull student will blame his lack of preparation for an examination of his pen that is not flowing well.


Ok continue...

APC government trying to glorify themselves by condemning the past governments for failures...

Nigerians ain't as gullible as they used to be. Even a lil child could see that APC is a failed government.

Wailers, Afonjas will still vote them in come 2019. I won't be surprised...

I know in 2019 when they kick most of u guys out you'll still blame Jonathan. Useless people

they rushed to post this topic twice on frontpage in a bid to rubbish him by all means.

lol, 2yr and no outcry

lol
I guess we are practicing blameocracy now. where's Dino when you need him ?

2 years now and they are still blaming GEJ?? na Thunder from SOUTH KOREA that will scatter APC. It's also GEJ that caused a cup of GARRI (peak milk cup) to b sold from 10 to 80 naira now. we can't even drink garri again.

Im still surprised they are yet to accuse him of their inabilities to perform their martimony duties, clueless goveronrs

Demolaeby:
Give us our Jonatan's substandard rice again at 7500naira per bag and eat your Buhari's Standard rice at 21,000naira per bag

No wonder we hardly see people reach 80 plus... many like you settle for less