The Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has taken a strong stance against the hoarding of essential commodities in the state.
The commission confiscated several warehouses in Dawanau International Grains Market, Singer Market, and Kwari Textiles Market, which contained a significant amount of hoarded food items, including spaghetti, rice, pasta, sugar, and more.
The owners of these warehouses were not present during the operation.The commission’s chairman, Muhyi Magaji Rimingado, stated the impact of their actions was to prevent sudden increase in the prices of essential commodities.
He also stated that the commission’s efforts have already made a significant difference in stabilizing prices.
The seized warehouses were found to contain hundreds of millions of naira worth of hoarded commodities, and the owners have been summoned to face legal charges for their illegal activities.
One of the notable challenges encountered during the raid was the claim by warehouse owners that the stocked items were part of the World Food Programme. Meanwhile, Rimingado questioned this assertion of whether the program would deprive the country of food while diverting it elsewhere.
The commission is determined to continue its efforts to combat hoarding and stabilize commodity prices in the state.
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.”
