President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, received
the leadership of the Nigerian Association of
Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and
Agriculture, NACCIMA, Igbere TV reports. Our State House correspondent reports that the
delegation, which were drawn from Nigeria and
other West African countries, were received at the
Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Speaking on the closure of the Nigerian border,
President Buhari said the aim was to put an end to
smuggling and dumping of substandard items
from other countries into Nigeria. He lamented the impact of fake drugs and foods
on the Nigerian citizens, including how fake
electrical items have led to fires in homes and loss
of lives and property. The president said since the border was shut,
Nigeria has witnessed a significant drop in the
volumes of counterfeit smuggled goods in
Nigerian markets. Buhari, who was conferred with “Grand Patron” of
the association by the delegates, equally used the
opportunity to thank the NACCIMA for the honour. Read the full statement posted on his verified
Twitter handle, @MBuhari, as obtained by Igbere
TV. Today I met with a delegation of Chambers of
Commerce and Industry from Nigeria and West
Africa. I assured them of our administration’s
readiness to work with them to bring an end to
smuggling and the dumping of substandard items
in West Africa and on the continent. It is regrettable there there are traders who simply
do not play by the rules; who choose profits over
patriotism, and
whose selfish practices in perpetrating smuggling
and counterfeiting help keep foreign factories
working while closing ours. We have all heard stories about the dangerous and
sometimes, fatal impact of fake drugs and foods on
our citizens. We have also seen how fake electrical
items have led to fires in homes and markets
thereby destroying lives and property. Most of these substandard and illegal items are
smuggled through our land borders. After many
years of diplomacy and aggressive regulatory
oversight which yielded few results, we decided to
close our land borders for a limited time to assess
the impact of this measure. Within a few short weeks since the partial border
closures began, we are already seeing a decline in
the volumes of counterfeit smuggled goods in
some of our major markets across the country. This validates our action as a Government when
we insist that the African Continental Free Trade
Agreement must not only promote free trade, but
legal trade of quality made-in-Africa goods and
services. We will soon finalise the National Action Committee
on the implementation of the AfCFTA. We expect
the organized private sector to continue to support
us in achieving a Free Trade Area that employs
Africans to produce high-quality made-in-Africa
products. Let me also thank NACCIMA for the honour done to
me with the investiture today as their Grand
Patron. I will not let them down. Trade is central to
our economy; we are a nation of traders,and have
been for centuries. I will ensure that we continue
to give the sector full support.

Well said