Federal Government has authorized Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) to fully resume export certification duties at all ports immediately, the Director General of the agency, Mr Vincent Isegbe has said.

A statement released yesterday in Abuja by Head, Media, Communications and Strategies, Mr Gozie Nwodo quoted the director general as saying the country’s export of agricultural produce would soon pick up again following the order.

‘’The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has also issued a consequential whole-of-government directive instructing Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well state governments to cooperate with NAQS to enable a well choreographed restoration of export traffic for the benefit of all Nigerians,”  Isegbe said.

“The lockdown announced as part of the strategy to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus occasioned a hiatus in the agricultural value chain.

With almost all the states in the country under one form of curfew or the other coupled with the ban on interstate transportation, institutional and logistical barricades blocking human and vehicular movement everywhere.

This situation made the passage of agricultural commodities from the remote production hotspots to the ports which are mostly located in the urban areas difficult,” he added.

Isegbe disclosed that the government granted the Agency authorization to make agro-export kinetic again because of the manifest need to free all functions related to agricultural export on both the public and private sectors side from any encumbrance.

“Agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (NAHCO Aviance), Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Federal Road Safety Commission, Vehicle Inspection Office, Nigeria Police and other security agencies are now under obligation to work in concert with NAQS and stakeholders to reanimate agricultural export,” he added.

Daily Trust