Following the discovery of a widening import scam amounting to
over N100 billion, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, Governor of the
Central Bank, Godwin Emefelie and Minister of Trade and Investment,
Okechukwu Enilama, held and emergency meeting Tuesday evening.
The meeting followed an alarm raised by a Chinese investment group during
a courtesy visit to the Trade and Investment Minister.
The group presented to the minister a product with the inscription:” Made
in Nigeria”.
The leader of the group further revealed that the product was actually
made in Japan as the original inscription showed.
The implication of the discovery is that exporters of supposedly made in
Nigeria products were ripping off the country to the tune of N100 billion
since the CBN banned the importation of 41 import items into the
country.
The CBN, had, in order to encourage local production and export of local
products, granted waivers to Nigerian exporters.
Further implication of the development points to the fact that Nigeria
would be generating zero revenue to the economy while dubious exporters of
foreign products in the guise of made in Nigeria products later repackage
the products into its original form after evading import duties.
The meeting which was still ongoing as at the time of filling this report is
expected to find immediate solutions to the untoward deelopment.
The scam, Pointblanknews further gathered has been ongoing since the ban
on the importation of 41 items including toothpicks, eggs and others.