Coronavirus: Customs releases 247 truckloads of relief items worth N3.2bn

- The comptroller general of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has approved the release of 247 truckloads of seized items

- The items will be distributed to Nigerians as part of the federal government's efforts to cushion the effect of the coronavirus lockdown

- President Buhari had earlier directed the NCS to release the seized items from smugglers for the benefits of Nigerians

The comptroller general of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has reportedly approved the release of 247 truckloads of relief items with a market value of N3.250 billion from its warehouses.

The release of the items which have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N2billion to be used as coronavirus palliatives was in compliance with President Muhammadu Buhari's directive, Daily Trust reports, citing a statement by Customs’spokesman, Deputy Comptroller Joseph Attah.

Legit.ng gathers that the relief items include 158 trailer load of rice estimated at 46,000 metric tonnes, 30 trucks of vegetable oil with 36,495 units of 25-litre kegs, and 3,428 kegs of palm oil.

Others are 54 trucks containing 136,705 cartons of tomatoes paste, 2,951 cartons of spaghetti and 1,253 packets of noodles, 828 bales of wrappers (Ankara) and 2,300 rolls of lace fabric.

The entire load of relief materials will be conveyed in 247 trucks, the analysis shows as Customs noted that only edible items certified fit for human consumption by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) will be released to the public.

However, the NCS is yet to disclose the locations and places where the items will be distributed.

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Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari directed the NCS to release 150 truckloads of rice seized from smugglers to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

This information was disclosed in a tweet from the federal government's Twitter handle on Tuesday, April 7.

Legit.ng gathered that this is part of the government's palliative measures to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic for Nigerians.

According to the tweet, the rice seized from smugglers would be distributed across the country immediately.

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Source: Legit.ng