The Senate has mandated the Nigerian Customs Service to urgently curb the smuggling of cheap parboiled rice into the country.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, gave the charge on Monday at a public hearing on investigation into the operation of the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme by the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs.
Saraki quoted a 2016 World Bank report which states that about one point five trillion naira or five billion dollars worth of assorted goods are smuggled into Nigeria yearly through the Benin Republic border.
He noted that if not checked, the tremendous gains in the agricultural sector might be affected.
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