Nigeria spent N155bn on rice importation in 2010 – Sanusi

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, has said that the country spent about $1bn (N155bn) on the importation of rice in 2010.

The CBN governor spoke in Kaduna at the Northern Nigeria Economic Summit organised by the Northern Political Summit Group, otherwise known as the G20.

While presenting the lead paper titled, “Mobilising Capital for Transformation of Northern Nigeria,” Sanusi wondered why Nigeria should be a major importer of rice when it had good climate and resources to produce the staple locally.
He said that the massive importation of rice was being done by some greedy people, who were benefitting from the trade.

The apex bank governor said, “$1bn was spent to import rice in 2010 because a few greedy people are benefitting from the importation. Consequently, when America, Britain and France are trying to talk to us about economic reforms, we should listen very well because they might just be protecting their interest.

“The Federal Government should stop paying subsidy on fertiliser and petroleum products; instead it should provide subsidy to the petroleum industry.”

He said that the rest of Nigerian needed the North to complement the agricultural produce supply needs of the country.

Sanusi said, “Some states in the North are poorer than Niger, Cameroun and Chad, even when agriculture constituted 42 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria and nobody is paying attention to this critical area of economic growth and national development. The North has hide and skin, yet we do not have leather processing industries in the region.”

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan said on Thursday in Kaduna that the country’s external reserves had risen to $36bn as at the end of February.

Jonathan said that the external reserves rose from $32.5bn as at the end of September 2010.