The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), has warned that Nigeria must not be allowed to become a dumping ground for substandard agricultural produce, stressing the need for strict compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
The warning was issued on Wednesday by the Comptroller-General of NAQS, Dr Vincent Isegbe, during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting with fruit importers in Lagos, where the agency also sealed a compliance pact with industry operators.
“Nigeria must not become a dumping ground for substandard agricultural produce,” Isegbe said, calling on shippers and importers to embrace zero tolerance for unsafe imports. He reaffirmed NAQS’s commitment to ensuring safe, compliant and sustainable fruit importation while avoiding actions that could amount to self-sabotage or create unnecessary barriers to legitimate trade.
According to him, NAQS, as Nigeria’s National Plant Protection Organisation, has a statutory mandate to protect the country’s agricultural economy while facilitating safe and compliant imports. He stressed that only fruits that meet required sanitary and phytosanitary standards should be allowed into the country in order to safeguard public health and protect local agricultural production.
Isegbe explained that the engagement with fruit importers was aimed at promoting transparency, building trust and ensuring that trade processes align with global best practices without compromising Nigeria’s biosecurity.
Also speaking at the event, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, underscored the importance of inter-agency collaboration in trade facilitation and border security. Represented by the Customs Area Comptroller in charge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command, Godwin Otunla, Adeniyi reiterated Customs’ support for NAQS in enforcing import standards that protect national interest while ensuring smooth cargo clearance.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Dr Pius Akutah, represented by the Assistant Director, Operations, Mr Omanayin Femi, also reaffirmed the council’s backing for NAQS operations. He described NAQS as critical to maintaining sanitary and phytosanitary compliance and enhancing Nigeria’s credibility in international trade.
The meeting brought together operators, sister agencies and industry leaders to discuss ways of strengthening collaboration and regulatory compliance across the fruit import value chain. In attendance was also the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, represented by Mr Onari-Brown Sovic, alongside other key stakeholders.
At the end of the engagement, NAQS and the Association of Fruit Importers in Nigeria signed a communiqué, signalling a shared commitment to compliance, cooperation and the promotion of safe fruit importation practices nationwide. The pact is expected to reduce trade disputes, strengthen cooperation and ensure that only quality and safe fruits enter the Nigerian market.
NAQS is a regulatory agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, formerly the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, responsible for protecting Nigeria’s agricultural sector from harmful pests, diseases and contaminants through quarantine controls on plant, animal and aquatic resources linked to international trade.
