CBN under Jonathan and Others Colluded To Defraud Nigeria Through Food Import Claims – Buhari
December 30, 2017: President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday received All Progressives Congress family from Kebbi State in the Presidential Villa.
Buhari said his administration will not rest in continually reviewing and strengthening ongoing reforms in the agricultural sector until Nigeria regains its pride of place as a food exporting country.
The President said the country’s huge rice import bill had dropped significantly by more than 90%, adding that it wasn’t good enough by his expectation.
In his words
- ““Beyond self-sufficiency, we must strive to become net exporters of food commodities.
- “We are not doing badly in the agricultural sector and Nigerians, and the world, are beginning to appreciate our efforts. We will not be satisfied; we will work harder until we start exporting food.
- “We are happy that rice and beans importation into the country have gone down by over 90 per cent, and visibly everyone can see how productive states like Kebbi have turned out to be and states like Lagos, Ogun and Ebonyi are following the example.”
- “Kaduna, Katsina, Kano and Sokoto States had already reported remarkable turn around in the agricultural sector, with more youths taking interest in entrepreneurship.
- “I disagreed with the astronomical food import bill presented by the Central Bank of Nigeria from the inception of the administration, pointing out that it was later discovered to be “fraudulent practices” by some of the elites to deplete the foreign reserves.
- “When I was told that the CBN had no savings after the windfall of selling oil for more than $100 per barrel for many years, and the production was 2.1 billion barrel per day, I did not believe them.
- “I did not believe them because majority of Nigerians cannot afford imported food; they rely on what is locally grown. It turned out that 50 per cent of the export bills were fraudulent. That is what the Nigerian elites did.
- “Unfortunately, we will not know all that happened because the elites worked in collusion with institutions in developed countries, like insurance firms, shipping companies and other financial outfits, to perpetuate the fraud.”
In his remarks, the Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, said the APC family was pleased with the performance of the administration in securing the country, reviving the economy and fighting corruption.
Bagudu and members of the delegation, which included former Governor of Kebbi State, Usman Saidu Nasamu Dakingari, and other former PDP stalwarts, prayed for the quick recovery of the President’s son, Yusuf.