Sophia Michaels
The Kano Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) have seized warehouses containing hoarded commodities worth hundreds of millions of naira in the state.
Several warehouses in and around Dawanau International Grains Market, Singer Market, and Kwari Textiles Market were sealed by the commission on Sunday.
Owners of such warehouses were nowhere to be found during the operation, but those opened were stacked full of commodities, including spaghetti, rice, pasta, sugar, and other food items.
The warehouse owners have been issued notice to report to the anti-graft commission in preparation for facing charges before the court of law for their illegal activity of hoarding, which is to the detriment of the populace.
The chairman of the commission, Muhyi Magaji Rimingado, who addressed the public, said: “As you can see, the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has made true its promise that we are going to embark on the fight against hoarding of essential commodities in the state.
“We started last Thursday, and we have made a significant impact on stopping the instant rise in the price of essential commodities. It was such that within a week, rice had jumped from N52,000 to N61,000.
“From what we have done so far, we are certain that there is an impact. From here, we are going to the market to ascertain the situation.
“Firstly, we were able to stop the instant increase in prices of the commodities, and secondly, we have the belief that if we sustain the tempo, we will be able to bring down the prices from where they have gotten to.
“As you can see now, we are going round the warehouses, and we met a lot of issues that, after we go back to the office, we are going to digest.
“One fundamental problem is that for each stock we uncover, they claim it is the World Food Programme stock. We wonder if the World Food Programme will starve the country while taking the food somewhere else.”
Speaking further, he said: “I was told here today that the price of maize has jumped from N30,000 to N60,000. So, you see, a 100 per cent increase is unacceptable. You can see these stores; there are hundreds of millions of naira worth of hoarded commodities in them.
“We are taking over the stores now, and we are going to make certain arrests because these will not be tolerated. This is not a market; this is a warehouse. We have activated our intelligence mechanism, and they have come up with reports on where and how they are hoarding it.”
