February 20, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has uncovered 32 routes for smuggling foods and intercepted 45 trucks loaded with grains heading out of Nigeria in Sokoto State.
Vice President Kashim Shettima disclosed this on Tuesday while addressing a conference on Public Wealth Management held in Abuja.
Shettima said the 45 trucks loaded with maize being taken out of Nigeria were intercepted in one of the routes in Ilela, Sokoto State, on Sunday midnight.
He said the intervention of the trucks led to an immediate crash in the price of maize in the area.
The Vice President, who spoke against the background of rising prices of foodstuffs in the country, said, “Just three nights ago, 45 trucks of maize were caught being transported to neighbouring countries.
“Just in that Ilela axis, there are 32 illegal smuggling routes. And the moment those foodstuffs were intercepted, the price of maize came down by N10,000. It came down from N60,000 to N50,000. So, there are forces that are hell-bent on undermining our nation but this is the time for us to coalesce into a singular entity,” he said.
Shettima, who acknowledged that Nigeria is passing through turbulent times, assured the people of the country that the pain will not last forever.
“We have to make this country work. We have to move beyond politics. We are now in the face of governance. Sadly, some of our countrymen are still in the political mode. They are the practitioners of violence, advocating that Nigeria should go the Lebanon way. But, Nigeria is greater than any of us here. Nigeria will weather the storm.
“Forces are hell-bent on plunging this country into a state of anarchy. Those who could not get to power through the ballot box, instead of waiting till 2027, are so desperate,” he said.
The Federal Government has blamed hoarding and illegal smuggling for the spiralling price of foodstuffs in the country.
Last week, the joint border patrol team of the Nigeria Customs Service, Sector 4, also intercepted truckloads of food items heading to Niger Republic through the Kebbi border.
Customs Coordinating Comptroller, Kolapo Oladeji, vowed that no stone will be left unturned to block food smuggling because of the current situation in the country.
“We all know that prices of food items have skyrocketed because of the unpatriotic acts of some Nigerians. Our people are hungry but they prefer to take the food to other countries despite the border closures imposed by ECOWAS.
“We will continue to trail them and block their routes and whoever is caught in this nefarious act will face the full wrath of the law,” he said.
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