To contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, the country needs to place a permanent ban on the importation of fairly used clothes popular called ‘Okrika’, a serving senator, Francis Fadahunsi said on Monday
Senator Francis Fadahunsi, former Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, and Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs, said currently there were many containers with clothing materials from China at Onne Port waiting to be cleared into the country. This, he said, was dangerous for the health of the nation.
Fadahunsi said the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health and other health agencies of government, needed to move fast to prevent eventual epidemic of the Coronavirus, ensuring that used clothing materials from China and other parts of Europe were banned totally.
The lawmaker said it was sickening that Nigerians import all manners of things that could be injurious to the health of the nation, just to make money.
Despite ban on fairly used goods in the custom books, ‘Okrika’ is still massively imported into the country by desperate businessmen and women.
The lawmaker drew attention of the nation to the massive importation of frozen foods in recent years. According to him, the frozen foods, which he said, were preserved with chemicals before being imported to Nigeria were responsible for the high rate of cancer among Nigerians.
Fadahunsi said the craze for foreign things, crave for social status and unpatriotic attitudes by Nigerians were putting the health of the entire nation in jeopardy, adding that the situation had become so alarming that soup and other edibles were being imported from China to Nigeria.
Fadahunsi said Custom officials and other relevant agencies should beam their searchlight on the ports in the country, especially Onne Port where cargoes bringing in items from China, had to wait to be cleared into the country.
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On the $22.8 billion facility approved by the Senate, the lawmaker said the loan was not in the best interest of the country.
The senate last week approved the 2016-2018 facility which was rejected by the 8th Senate.
The loan was approved after heated debate in the red chambers which resulted into a closed session that lasted about one hour.
The lawmakers emerge to approve the loan, which the Federal government said would be used to address critical infrastructural deficit in the country.
But, Fadahunsi said the county’s debt profile was scary and generations coming would keep paying debt, which might end up not being utilised appropriately.
The Osun lawmaker said despite opposition to the loan, the numerical strength of the ruling party eventual got the approval to scale through.
He said previous loans collected by the country had not been judiciously used and it was in doubt if the $22.8 billion would be used for the purpose it was intended.
