The Senate on Thursday recalls that rice policy waiver of the Federal Government was a deliberate attempt to encourage agriculture in Nigeria but regrets the waiver on riceimportation in the last five years because of the flagrant abuse that has caused more harm to the nation’s economy.
According to proceedings which was monitored by DAILY POST, a whooping sum of N585 billion was waived between 2011 – 2015, which Senate attributed to conspiracy between Nigeria Customs and Federal Ministry of Finance.
They urged the Federal government to stop all waivers on rice and other agricultural products while mandating the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs and Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure recovery of all duties owed the Federal government.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki further added that government would ensure that all necessary mechanisms were put in place to ensure that laws of the of Nigeria were respected.
Having announced the Ad-Commiittee to be headed by Senator Adams Albert from Kebbi South Senatorial District, the Senate President charged the committees to take the integrity of the Senate seriously by ensuring that federal government revenues are recovered.
While leading debate on his motion, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South) said the flagrant abuse of the waiver scheme had severely eroded Federal Government’s rice production policy by allowing importation of huge quantities of the commodity in excess of their approved quota.
According to him, a recent Senate interaction with the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, revealed how importers overshot its quota, adding that this made the importers to owe the Federal Government import duties running into billions of naira.
Ibrahim further argued that instead of importers paying as huge as 70 per cent duties and levies to the Federal Government, they were granted waivers, thereby denying Nigerians legitimate revenues.
His words, “The importers ordinarily should be paying in addition to the duty on the commodity, a fine of 70 per cent of duties and levies to the Federal Government, the government has failed to implement this directive and denied our people legitimate revenues into the Federal Government coffers.
“The Senate also observed that some of the defaulting companies had, notwithstanding their defaults, been awarded fresh waivers to import more within the last few days of the previous administration.
“The Customs Service, which ought to be enforcing compliance with duty and other revenues at the borders, has failed to carry out its mandate and enforce compliance from the defaulters.”
Contributing to the motion, Senator Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto North) disclosed that findings on waivers had shown that N585bn worth of waivers were granted by the Federal Government between 2011 and 2014.
He posited that if the amount had been shared among the 36 states of the federation, each of the three senatorial districts in a state would have N5.3bn, which, he noted, was enough to provide 5,000 jobs in various states.
Gobir therefore called for a total end to waivers on agricultural products.
On his part, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) advocated the removal of waivers, stressing that waivers on rice, cement, palm oil, among others, should be discouraged to encourage growth of small and medium agro-allied industries in the country.
Ruling on Ibrahim’s motion, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said the Aliero committee would look at the waiver policy regime and simultaneously carry out a holistic review with a view to determining government revenues losses.
“The ad hoc committee has been given the task to investigate details of the waivers illegally granted in the past and come up with arrangements to recover all monies paid into wrong hands as a result of the policy,” he stated.
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