Food prices are expected to fall significantly as the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) will commence duty exemptions on imported consumer products as per the directive of President Bola Tinubu.
The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, gave this assurance on Tuesday, saying the initiative is expected to commence next week.
He made the disclosure at a joint press conference with other security agencies in Abuja. Giving details of the upcoming changes, Adeniyi said the Ministry of Finance was in the final stages of preparing guidelines on the exemptions. “Once these guidelines are complete, the Customs Service will immediately move forward with the implementation”, he asserted.
The Customs chief stressed the government’s efforts to address the ongoing food inflation in the country. He stressed that the tariff exemption is a strategic part of a broader effort to ease these economic pressures. In addition to the release, other measures such as the distribution of food from the National Grain Reserve are also being taken to stabilize food supplies.
The Comptroller-General also stressed the importance of a careful and balanced approach when implementing the exemption. He noted that while the exemption is intended to support consumers by reducing food costs, it is also important to consider the impact on local farmers. To this end, the NCS is working closely with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the benefits of the exemption are distributed fairly to all stakeholders, including farmers and consumers.
