By Saminu Ibrahim
A group, the National Ecosystem Advocates of Nigeria (NEAN) has canvassed collaboration of all sister agencies that work with the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to enhance standard and compliance in the export of Agricultural products out of Nigeria.
Similarly, NEAN has urged the National Assembly to consider the importance of reviewing the current NAQS Act, 2017 with the view to identifying and strengthening the law to ensure that the main objectives of the legislation is fully attained.
A statement jointly signed by Comrade Ben Iguabor and Silas Modaccai NEANNational Coordinator and Secretary respectively and made available to SINL Nigeria Online bemoaned a situation where NAQS activities are being sabotaged by another sister agency like the Nigerian Customs Service or the Nigerian Police is most regrettable.
Specifically, the group emphasised that recent events in the activities and operation of the agency has revealed that if NAQS must continue to deliver on its statutory mandate and contribute to the growth of the nation’s economy, steps must be taken to strengthen some bottlenecks that vitiate the operations of the agency.
“For us as a body, the National Ecosystem Advocates of Nigeria (NEAN), believes that key amongst these is the need to get all the sister agencies that work with NAQS to function more collaboratively and patriotically, putting the interest of nation first before self.
“For instance, NAQS as a leading agency in ensuring standards and compliance in the export of agricultural products out of the country, it is wrong that while the agency insists on full compliance by exporters, personnel of the customs would be at the backend sabotaging such efforts. If properly coordinated, Nigeria has very huge potential of raking in stupendous income through agricultural exports.
“Also on the need for inter agency cooperation, there is the imperative to get the full buy-in of the personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service to the operations of NAQS.
“For instance, while some foreigners are officially documented by the Nigerian Immigrant personnel for particular job descriptions, such foreigners often resort to activities different from which they are officially listed. Chinese nationals are the most criminal culprits of this act”
Continuing, the group alleged that there are several instances where many Chinese nationals come into Nigeria, get documented by the Nigeria Immigration Service as construction workers, only to turn into marauders of our bushes and forests the next day, engaging in criminal hunting and export of illegal crops and animals, including illegal plundering of our timbers with the active cooperation of some unpatriotic Nigerians.
Consequently, the statement added that there is need for routine monitoring of these foreigners to ensure that they do not violate their official status in the country. “And where such foreigners are reported to the Nigeria Immigration, the service must take steps to ensure that the affected foreigners are promptly deported back to the countries of their origin”.
NEAN recalled that it had deplored the criminal activities of some Chinese nationals in the illegal poaching and export of donkeys in the country and reiterated its position.
Meanwhile, the group applauded the efforts of the current Director General of NAQS, Dr. Vincent Isegbe and the staff of the agency in ensuring that the country derives the full benefits for the establishment of the agency by their insistence in the discharge of the agency’s core mandates.
The Nigeria Agriculture and Quarantine Service (NAQS) is a regulatory agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It is tasked with the responsibility of the harmonization of Plants, Veterinary and Aquatic resources (fisheries).
The agency is to promote and regulate sanitary (animal and fisheries health) and plant health measures in connection with the import and export of agricultural products with a view to minimizing the risk to agricultural economy, food safety and the environment.
Amongst others, the main objective of NAQS is to prevent the introduction, establishment and spread of animal and zoonotic diseases as well as pests of plants and fisheries including their products. NAQS also undertakes emergency protocol to control or manage new pest incursion or disease outbreak in collaboration with key stakeholders.
It also ensures that agricultural exports meet with international standards in line with International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Office International des Epizootics (OIE) representing the World Organization for Animal Health, WTO/Sanitary and International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and SPS conditions of the importing countries.
