The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said that only Nigerians with verifiable National Identification Number (NIN), are qualified to benefit from the seized food items that the agency is distributing, News About Nigeria reports.
The food items, which according to the service are meant for hungry Nigerians who are currently suffering from the current economic hardships, are ready for distribution, but only those who meet their criteria will benefit from them.
According to the comptroller-general of customs, Wale Adeniyi, who spoke at the flag-off of the distribution on Thursday, the distribution of the food items was ordered by the federal government.
Adeniyi explained that the compulsory use of the NIN is to restrict people from collecting the palliatives multiple times.
He further noted that the agency’s target for distribution is artisans, teachers, religious organisations and other Nigerians within the area of customs operations, including the border areas.
Adeniyi also stated that the customs is partnering with other security agencies to ensure that the food items are distributed to the right benefactors, who are primarily the needy in Nigeria.
He said, “The intention of this distribution is to reach out directly to members of organisations that have structures to ensure the maximum impact of the exercise. The effort of the distribution is to ensure robust security protocols throughout the process, as officers will closely monitor the entire supply chain to prevent any misuse or possible diversion of food items.
“We collaborate with other sister agencies of the government, while customs is the lead agency because the food items are with us. Among us here are the police and DSS, and tomorrow, we are going to have a full department of all the sister organisations for proper monitoring.”
He also revealed that the rice that will be distributed was certified for consumption by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and has been re-bagged into 25kg bags so it can reach as many Nigerians as possible.
According to him, the items to be distributed, which are seized items, include 20,000 bags of 50kg of parboiled rice, beans, maize, millet, and soya beans, 2,500 cartons of 963 bags of assorted dried fish, dry pepper, seasoning, salt, cooking oil, macaroni, sugar, and garri.
The service also warned beneficiaries from reselling any of the food items as anyone caught selling it would be punished.
