By Abdullahi Muhammad Sheka
A One time Senatorial Aspirant and a PDP Elder statesman in Katsina state, Hon. Zaharaddeen Babba Mazoji on Tuesday, commended the acting CBN Governor’s decision to immediately lifting the embargoes on 43 iterms that’s leads to reopen major land borders in the country.
Reacting to the decision in an interview with Journalist, Babba Mazoji said it was a good development, stressing that it would make businesses to thrive. Mazoji maintained that with the lifting of this embergors and reopening of the borders, goods would now move freely, especially for the food exporting through the West African coast.
Babba Mazoji emphasise that businesses will be fine, as people will move in their goods and sell, and also produce and sell by having access to the markets that they used to patronise. Now people are suffering alot in searching for daily needs which at the same times create the more hardship for poor people.
“So, in the first place, I don’t see the need for border closure because the expected benefits have not been so manifest,” Becouse Katsina state is a clear example, Becouse their is many rice mailings company that are processing rice, but the price of that rice process in Katsina is going hand in hand with foreing rice.” Mazoji said
Hon. Babba Mazoji has chided the government over the high cost of rice despite over N850 billion on the rice value chain under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programmes, he argued that if the money spent by the Central Bank investing in rice was spent on importing it, Nigerians will have more than enough to eat at a lower price.
‘Why should currently a 50kg of Nigerian rice shuold be sold between N45,000 and N50,000 and foreign rice is also sold between N50,000 and N60,000, this is very annoyed, and this so call farmers Association now are craing saying that they invest alot money in the business but now Government has direct the reopoenining of Boarders which they said it will crake down their businesses.
He also stated that farmers would be happier because farm inputs prices will rise, the farmers can get inputs at an affordable price, that means Nigerian consumers will get things at affordable price all things being equal.
Mazoji added that, “The CBN reiterates it’s commitment in prevailing foreign exchange rates that should be referenced from platforms such as the CBN website, FMDQ, and other recognised or appointed trading systems to promote price discovery, transparency, and credibility in all measures.
“As part of its responsibility to ensure price stability, the CBN suppose to boost liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange market by interventions from time to time. As market liquidity improves, the CBN interventions will gradually decrease.”
“We appreciated the CBN committed to accelerating efforts to reopened boarders with existing participants and advise to continue dialogue with stakeholders to address the issue of free imports and Export between our neighboring country.”
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