Senate to probe N585b import waivers

The Senate has set up a committee to scrutinise waiver, concessions and grant policies under the last administration, even as it called on the Federal Government to move to recover over N585 billion granted as waivers to rice importers between 2011 and 2014.

The upper chamber also urged government to stop granting waivers to importers of rice and agricultural products.

The Senate invited the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Comptroller General of Customs and the Ministry of Finance. They are to appear before an Ad Hoc Committee set up to shed more light on the status of waivers with the view to working out modalities for recovery.

The committee is headed by Senator Adamu Aliero.

Moving the motion , Senator Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South) lamented what he described as the flagrant abuse of the waiver policy, which according to him, crippled the Federal Government’s local rice production policy.

Read also: Senate seeks refund of GEJ’s N30bn waiver on rice

He regretted that instead of punishing defaulters, the Goodluck Jonathan administration rewarded them with multiple waivers, particularly towards the tail end of the administration.

Ibrahim cited an instance in which the last administration granted import duty waivers to 10 rice and palm oil importers amounting to N150 billion in 2011 alone.

Others that contributed to the debate blamed the Customs Service for poor enforcement of the relevant import duties.

Senator Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto North) argued that the N585 billion lost to import duty waivers was enough to make a difference in the finances of the 36 states.

Ripples… without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now