The Nigerian Customs Services has assured protesters that there will be a drastic reduction in prices of food items as soon as possible.
This was made known by the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Services, Bashir Adeniyi, at Defence Headquarters, Abuja, on Tuesday.
The Customs boss told newsmen that some of the imported food items have already arrived in the country and will be cleared without duties and taxes to facilitate a price reduction on them.
He said, “The protest was premised on a number of things, one of them being to end hunger. We discovered that a significant amount of food consumed in Nigeria is imported.
“Importation takes some time. So one of the things the president has done to cushion the effect of the cost of importation is to suspend customs duties and taxes on imported food items for some time.
“We believe that when this is implemented, it will help to bring down prices of food items in the markets. Nigerian Customs is committed to the implementation of this particular fiscal policy as enunciated by the government”.
Adeniyi also emphasized the importance of accommodating the interests of all stakeholders before putting the policy into effect while encouraging Nigerians to remain patient.
Thousands of Nigerians stormed the streets on August 1, asking the government to address the high cost of food and inflation in the country.
