The Senate yesterday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Nigerian Customs Service to suspend the lifting of ban on the importation of rice through the country land borders.
The Senate made the resolution, following the consideration of the report of its Ad hoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers, Concessions and Grants on the Nigeria Customs Service Lifting of the ban on rice importation through the land borders, chaired by Adamu Aliero (Kebbi/APC).
In October, comptroller-general of Customs, Hameed Ali announced that the federal government was lifting the ban on rice importation through the land borders to shore up revenue and to forestall smuggling of the commodity into the country.
The adopted report recommended that the federal government suspend the policy on the grounds that it would escalate rice smuggling into the country, adding that the customs lacked the capacity to monitor and control the flow of goods through the land borders.
It also mandated the federal government to direct Customs to immediately halt the removal of rice from import restriction list and the re-introduction of import duty payment at land borders.
