The Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN), has called on the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu, to prioritise a firmer border control to curtail rice smuggling into the country as soon as he is inaugurated, next month.
He called on the in-coming president to reposition the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and re-organise Nigeria’s current border surveillance system to enable the NCS and other security agencies at the borders to be more effective in halting the smuggling of rice into the country.
“To this extent, Nigeria’s current border surveillance system should be re-organized to enable the customs and other agencies at the borders to carry out all weather surveillance. Modern security equipment such as Long-Range Surveillance Drones, video monitors and night vision scopes should be deployed to our border security if they are not currently being used.”
Ekwelem explained that the nation’s rice sub-sector grew exponentially, between 2020 and 2021 when the federal government closed the nation’s borders with the Benin Republic.
He lamented, however, that with the opening of the borders in 2021, rice smugglers have increased their activities, which he said has had a very negative effect on the nation’s rice industry, in particular and the economy, in general.