Senate wants stop of rice import waiver

The Senate has urged the federal government to stop all waivers on rice importation and other agricultural products to halt the decline of the country’s economy. The senators unanimously resolved during yesterday’s plenary that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Comptroller General of Customs to ensure that all duty due to the government is recovered.
The decision of the Senate was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Adebayo Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South) tagged: “Indiscriminate use and abuse of waivers for rice importation.”
Ibrahim said the flagrant abuse of the waiver scheme has severely eroded the federal government’s rice production policy by importing huge quantities of the commodity in excess of their approved quota.
Ruling on the motion,  Senate President Bukola Saraki set up a committee with Adamu Aliero as chairman to look into all waivers, concession and grant with a view to determine all government revenues.