UN’s sanctions on Nigerian produce, a result of export commodity levy misappropriation

United Nation (UN)

The United Nation (UN)’s ban on substandard agricultural produce’s export to any European country may have been hinged on inappropriate utilization of Export Commodities Coordinating Committee (ECCC) levies that are meant to enhance all the productivity processes at all the value chains of concerned produce from Nigeria.

Nigeria has lost billions of Naira due to rejection and underpricing of many agricultural produce due to allegation of substandard produce which is what ECCC levy is specifically meant to address through training on quality, grading and proper packaging for export markets with appropriate deliberation on insurance.

The questions on the lips of many stakeholders are how effectively has the ECCC levy been utilized in the face of export ban by European market?  How are the levies spent on ensuring standard, in conjunction with other affiliated private and government organizations?

Food Farm News gathered that the improper spending of these levies by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMIT&I) may have created a gap for not being able to meet some of the basic purposes the charges were meant to meet as many of the commodity associations could not even pay their annual subscription dues at the international levels. 

It will be recalled that the Executive Director, International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) Dr. Jean- Mar Anga during his visit to Nigeria, in company of Director, African Export-Import Bank, Mr. Kofi Adomakoh had notified the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh and his Industry, Trade & Investment counterpart,  Mr. Enelamah about the low quantity and quality of Nigerian cocoa in the international market  coupled with none renewal of its membership which may lead to removal.

 One of our sources told Food Farm News that  the ECCC levy of 5% per ton on every export of cocoa, cotton, ginger, cashew and gum Arabic since 2002 after its abolition in 1995 has not met the purpose of which it was been re-stalled in terms of enhancing standard of the agricultural produce through training, organizing seminars and paying of annual dues of the commodity associations at the international level as there are allegation of frivolous spending of the levy proceeds on an unexplainable official trips by the officials of the FMT&I, paying of workers arrears, and buying of fuel for power generators and  other expenses  that are outside of their mandates. 

Although the sum total of the revenue from the levy could not be ascertained from the ministry where the account is domiciled, even with a verbal order  from the permanent secretary to the effect that the official responsible must avail the journalist of requested information, on the matter.

Paragraph two of our letter to the ministry read “we are aware that $5 and $3 per ton are being charged as levy on export of cocoa, cotton, gum Arabic, coffee and other crops respectively, towards maintaining standard against rejection and other related matters. We will like to know how much of this levy has accumulated in the last ten years and its impact on standard production and export in the face of rejection cum sanction by the European countries”

All efforts  and visits made by our correspondents to get information from the D/CPI met with brick wall as the  letter request dated 15^th of  May submitted to the office of the  Permanent secretary had not been attended to as at press time. Some officials in the responsible department always responded that  work was going on the paper  while others have queried,’ how can the media be seeking such an information from the ministry? 

Many of the stakeholders who spoke with Food Farm News under condition of anonymity were very angry with the way the ministry officials have been spending the accumulated money saying that the funds were being spent without relevance to the purpose for which it is meant. 

 A source who is a member of one of the commodity associations that make a large contribution to levy revenue told us that “I see no reason why a detailed account of the whole  ECCC levy cannot be published every year to show the state of private sector’s contribution to the economic growth of the nation.  Rather the entire money are being spent in secrecy without explanation to the producers and exporters, and nothing has happened in the last decade as exporters are losing out in the huge economic opportunity in the global trade”

Another source added that the corruption crusade of the present administration would be incomplete without it beaming the searchlight on the whole affairs.