FAAN sabotaging government’s effort on export of agricultural produce

The Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has accused the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN) of sabotaging Federal Government’s effort to stop the rejection of Nigerian agric produce by the European Union.

This charge is coming on the heels of FAAN trying to remove quarantine officers from the arrival and departure lounge of airports due to the Executive order 001 by the Acting President Yemi Osibanjo, on the promotion of transparency and efficiency in business environment.

The Coordinating Director NAQS, Vincent Isiegbe disclosed yesterday, in Abuja, that in the era of increased trans-boundary diseases like armyworm, bird flu, Ebola, there is need for the agency to maintain its posts in the terminal buildings, so as to ensure agricultural produce coming in and out of the country are certified free of pest and diseases.

Disclosing that an average 3.14kg agricultural produce are exported from Lagos airport on a monthly basis, he said certifying exported agricultural goods would save the country millions of naira that could have been spent controlling pest and disease.