The presidency has said that the suspension of taxes on importation of food commodities is not yet official.
According to TheCable on Monday, Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, said the measures are still under consideration.
“The measures are not yet official,” he said.
Backstory
The federal government had on Monday announced the approval of a 150-day duty-free importation of maize, husked brown rice and wheat as part of measures to combat rising food inflation in the country.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Monday, Senator Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said the initiative suspends duties, tariffs, and taxes on these imports through both land and sea borders.
He said the measures are part of the accelerated stabilisation and advancement plan recently presented to President Bola Tinubu by the economic management team (EMT) under the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) constituted by the president in March.
The minister said multiple taxes and levies, infrastructural challenges and “sheer profiteering by marketers and traders” have contributed to rising food prices.
In a now-deleted post on X, Onanuga had also announced the measures.
