Presidency Counters Agric Minister, Says Suspension of Taxes Food Importation, Not Yet Official

The presidency says the suspension of taxes on importation of food commodities is not yet official.

In a brief chat, Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, said the measures are still under consideration.

“The measures are not yet official,” he said.

In a statement released earlier, Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security, said duties, tariffs and taxes on imported maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas — through land and sea borders — have been suspended.

Kyari said a 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities will be enforced as part of measures to be implemented over the next 180 days to ameliorate food inflation in Nigeria.

He said the measures are part of the accelerated stabilisation and advancement plan recently presented to President Bola Tinubu by the economic management team (EMT) under the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) constituted by the president in March.

The minister said multiple taxes and levies, infrastructural challenges and “sheer profiteering by marketers and traders” have contributed to rising food prices.