The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a stern warning to the rice import duty evaders stating categorically that they must pay up their debts or face prosecution.
The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele gave this warning during a stakeholders meeting with officials of Paddy Rice Producing states and Rice Value Chain investors Tuesday in Abuja.
Emefiele said: “I am aware that some people got some quota and they imported some large quantity of rice above the quota that they were granted and I am also aware that Nigeria Customs Service has written to them that they should pay.
“You are taking a big risk and I will like to advice you, don’t wait for the big stick to be wielded on you, just go and pay.”
Speaking further he said: “We will go to the highest level to ensure that we enforce it and that they must pay. I will therefore seize this opportunity to appeal to these companies to please go and pay, because they have created problems for rice that is produced locally and now we are begging the local rice millers to come to our aid and take up the unsold stock.”
He frowned at the way foreigners come to Nigeria and break the country’s laws with impunity adding that a Nigerian won’t do such in their countries and go scot free.
On the issue of possible reversal of the exclusion of Rice in the foreign exchange restriction list, the CBN Governor categorically stated that there is no going back on the subject.
He explained that the reason for the inclusion of rice in the exclusion list is not far-fetched, adding that “the figures available with the CBN shows that from the period January 2012 to May 2015, the country had spent over $2.41 billion on the importation of this commodity. Unfortunately this trend has resulted in huge unsold stock of paddy rice cultivated by our farmers and low operating capacities of the many integrated rice mills in Nigeria.”
The Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who represented the Governors of the 10 paddy rice producing states in Nigeria, in his speech at the meeting, thanked the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development for all their efforts towards making Nigeria an enviable rice producing nation.
The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele gave this warning during a stakeholders meeting with officials of Paddy Rice Producing states and Rice Value Chain investors Tuesday in Abuja.
Emefiele said: “I am aware that some people got some quota and they imported some large quantity of rice above the quota that they were granted and I am also aware that Nigeria Customs Service has written to them that they should pay.
“You are taking a big risk and I will like to advice you, don’t wait for the big stick to be wielded on you, just go and pay.”
Speaking further he said: “We will go to the highest level to ensure that we enforce it and that they must pay. I will therefore seize this opportunity to appeal to these companies to please go and pay, because they have created problems for rice that is produced locally and now we are begging the local rice millers to come to our aid and take up the unsold stock.”
He frowned at the way foreigners come to Nigeria and break the country’s laws with impunity adding that a Nigerian won’t do such in their countries and go scot free.
On the issue of possible reversal of the exclusion of Rice in the foreign exchange restriction list, the CBN Governor categorically stated that there is no going back on the subject.
He explained that the reason for the inclusion of rice in the exclusion list is not far-fetched, adding that “the figures available with the CBN shows that from the period January 2012 to May 2015, the country had spent over $2.41 billion on the importation of this commodity. Unfortunately this trend has resulted in huge unsold stock of paddy rice cultivated by our farmers and low operating capacities of the many integrated rice mills in Nigeria.”
The Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who represented the Governors of the 10 paddy rice producing states in Nigeria, in his speech at the meeting, thanked the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development for all their efforts towards making Nigeria an enviable rice producing nation.
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