The Federal Government has said about 80 percent of agro-products from Nigeria that seized by the European Union member nations are exported illegally.
It explained that though most of the products were prohibited for exports by the government, people illegally move the items out of the country without clearance by the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS).
The Director-General of NAQS, Vincent Isegbe, explained that the interception of agricultural exports from Nigeria by EU countries was basically due to the absence of the quarantine service in most Nigerian borders.
During an interview with our correspondent, Isegbe said, “So far, in all the records that we have, of all the (agro-products) interceptions, between 80 to 82 percent are all prohibited items. I know your next question will be why is it happening? It is because the quarantine service is not at the specific point of checking those things.”
He, however, noted that most reports by the EU on agro-products interceptions from Nigeria were incidental cases.
“You could have a situation where probably somebody carried a consignment for personal use and it is intercepted,” he said.
The NAQS boss added, “And, of course, you know that when that happens, that interception will be reported within the 27-member EU nations, and somebody who does not know the reason for the interception will say ‘oh, so much has been intercepted.’
NAQS is a regulatory agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development that harmonizes plants, veterinary, and aquatic resources quarantine in Nigeria.
It promotes and regulates sanitary and phytosanitary measures in connection with the import and export of agricultural products to minimize the risk to the agricultural economy, food safety, and the environment.
