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Nigerians consume 70% of smuggled goods – Gov Ahmed

 

By Matthew Denis

The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has called on the Federal Government to tighten security at the borders to prevent importation of smuggled goods as Nigerians consume about 70 per cent of those goods especially frozen foods.

He made the disclosure while declaring open a One day Seminar organised by Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) held at Banquet hall, Ilorin on Tuesday.

The Governor while speaking on theme of the event; ‘Impact of smuggled poultry products on the economy and health of Nigerians,’ decried the level of damage done to the country and its people by smuggled items.

“Smuggled goods make up 70 per cent of Nigerians’ consumption and it is detrimental to their health.

“Imported frozen turkey and chicken are unwholesome meats that always have long term devastating effects on health of consumers.

The Gvernor who explained that poultry industry is still faced with challenges including but not limited to unfair competition from imported frozen meat, chicken and turkey, said “imported frozen meat is said to account for over $2.5 in foreign exchange and a loss of more than one million jobs opportunities annually”.

The net impact of this, according to Ahmed, is the gradual emasculation of local businesses, resulting in unemployment and stunting growth.

Gov Ahmed insisted that smuggling of contraband items drains the national income, retards local businesses and often results in the demise of local industries, and in the long term have devastating effects on the health of consumers.

Ahmed called for stronger enforcement of current ban on importation of poultry products into the country to protect the health of citizens and boost the nation’s economy.

Earlier, the President, Poultry Association Nigeria, Ezekiel Ibrahim, who attributed high cases of cancer and kidney diseases, particularly among the wealthy individuals, to the consumption of imported products, disclosed that an average of 1.3 metric tonnes of poultry products were smuggled into the country on annual basis between 2004 and 2017.

Ibrahim called on Kwara State Government to encourage whistle blowing policy among inhabitants of border communities to expose those smuggling poultry products.

In his paper presentation titled: State of Emergency: Job losses due to smuggling of poultry products in Nigeria, the immediate past National President of the association, Dr Ayoola Oduntan described poultry business as low hanging fruits with potential to creating high paying jobs.

 

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