Birnin-Kebbi, the capital of
Kebbi State, witnessed a mild drama on Tuesday at the venue of the
Progressive Governors Forum meeting.
As the function progressed,
Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State and Senator Adamu Aliero
confronted two top federal government officials.
Masari and Aliero accused
Ministers of Agriculture and Finance of issuing import licences to unknown
traders who imported 300 metrics tonnes of maize into Nigeria.
Masari, who was first to speak,
openly challenged Audu Ogbeh and Kemi Adeosun, accusing them of backing
importers that brought the maize from Brazil to Nigeria.
In his reaction, Aliero supported
the Katsina governor.
He said “We have it from a
reliable authority that your ministries issued the licenses to them.
“This will not help our local
farmers. We have agreed that there should not be importation of any grain into
the country.”
In separate responses, both
ministers denied the allegation.
In the words of Ogbeh: “If had
the power, I would have stopped the importation of goods into Nigeria 30 years
ago.
”I don’t know anything about
it. My ministry don’t know anything about it. It is the responsibility of
Customs to stop them”.
Adeosun on her part stated: “I
don’t know anything about it. One NGO approached us to import drugs for IDPs
and we told them that they should buy in Nigeria.”
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