The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Agric and Non-Oil Export Group, has urged the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to improve its publicity in creating awareness in the fight against importation of smuggled goods particularly poultry products.
Chairman of the Group, Prince Wale Oyekoya, who spoke in a chat with SHIPS & PORTS, said increased public awareness to consumers, who he said are unaware of the health hazards of consuming imported poultry products, will discourage them from patronizing smugglers of the products.“The information dissemination is not there for people to be aware that what they are eating is deadly.
You can’t just go and be seizing products when you have not given people consuming it better information about it. Most consumers just buy, they don’t even know what they are eating is being preserved with formalin. If Customs can stop the customers patronizing them, the smugglers will have no business bringing it if there are nobody to buy”, he said.
Oyekoya who accused men of the Nigeria Customs Service of connivance with smugglers, lamented that despite the increasing number of the products being intercepted; they still find their way into the Nigerian market through the borders thus killing local production.
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