exportation of some Nigeria's agricultural produces for allegedly
containing high level of unauthorised pesticides and lack of proper
storage by the European Union.
Consequently, the House presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu
Dogara in its resolution mandated its Committee on Commerce and
Agriculture when constituted to liaise with relevant stakeholders to
work on resolving the issues and concerns raised by the EU Food Safety
Authority to lift the ban.
The resolution to ensure that EU lifts the ban on Nigeria's
agricultural food was sequel to the motion sponsored by Rep. Jerry
Alagbaoso representing Orlu/Osun/Oru East of Imo State on the platform
of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Alagbaoso had in the motion on the 'need to investigate the ban of
exportation of some Nigeria's food items by the European Union' noted
with dismay that the recent ban by the EU on some agricultural food
exports from Nigeria had affected the economy of the country.
He further noted that the reason given by the EU for the ban was that
the banned food items allegedly contained high level of unauthorised
pesticides, while others lacked proper storage, adding that the
pesticides were usually applied when the products were being prepared
for export.
The lawmaker also informed the House that the EU authorities had
previously warned the Nigerian authorities that the banned items were
hazardous and had issued about fifty notifications to relevant
Nigerian authorities since 2013.
According to Rep Alagbaoso, the Director-General of the National
Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, had
blamed the exporters of those products of being responsible for the
ban due to their non-compliance with regulatory requirements for
semi-processed and processed commodities.
He said that he was "worried by the negative impact of the ban on the
income of the farmers of those products and the middlemen who trade on
them as well as the foreign exchange that accrues to Nigeria through
those exports."
He said that the matter was more worrisome because it was happening in
an era when the federal government was working on diversifying the
economy from oil-based to agro-based.
Meanwhile, the House also mandated its committee on Aids, Loans and
Debt Management when constituted to undertake a comprehensive
investigation of the debt profile of all tiers of government with a
view to establishing their levels of compliance with and the need for
invocation of section 41 (3) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007
and report back to the House within six weeks for further legislative
input.
-Vanguard
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