President Bola Tinubu has explained his reasons for approving the temporal suspension of import duties on selected food items into the country.
During the public presentation of Olusegun Osoba's book "My Life in the Public Eye" in Lagos on Saturday, Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said that these measures are designed to address food shortages and enhance affordability for consumers.
According to the President, the policies announced earlier in the week by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, are short-term measures to address the rising food prices across the country.
"We are taking steps to address food shortages by temporarily removing tariffs on imported grains and other food items," President Tinubu stated.
Meanwhile, the President said he is committed to food security and sufficiency in the country.
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He stated that his administration will persist in promoting local production, ensuring that Nigeria produces what it consumes in the long term.
"We will continue to drive local production and ensure that we produce what we eat and use locally," he added.
Backstory
It was earlier reported that the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, approved a 150-day duty-free window to allow the importation of maize, husked brown rice and wheat as part of measures to combat rising food inflation in the country.
According to him, the federal government hopes to manage the food security problem in the next 180 days through the granting of 150days import window for certain food commodities.
The Minister of Agriculture also noted that the Ministry in the next 14 days will collaborate Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit and the Economic Management Team (EMT) to finalise the implementation framework for the policy initiatives.
"A 150-Day Duty Free Import Window for Food Commodities Suspension of duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities (through land and sea borders)
"These commodities include Maize, Husked Brown Rice, Wheat and Cowpeas.
"Under this arrangement, imported food commodities will be subjected to a Recommended Retail Price (RRP)," he said.
What you should know
Since the approval of the waivers of import duties on certain selected food items, sole stakeholders particularly farmers have spoke against the policies.
These farmers believe the policy will stifle local production of food in the country, and reduce the gains made in terms of self-sufficiency in the agricultural sectors.
President Tinubu had earlier stated that his administration will not resort to food importation.
However, given the high price of staple food in the market with food inflation hitting over 40%, many households are expected to get some reliefs with the new waiver on food importation into the country, which will help bridge the supply gap and create affordability.
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