By Dele Moses, Ilorin
The Kwara State Commissioner for Police and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on free movement of agricultural produce and inputs in Kwara State, Kayode Egbetokun, has warned commercial drivers against hiding passengers behind food and agricultural produce they transport to the state.
The police boss gave the warning on Monday when he inaugurated the Joint Technical Task Team (JTTT) on Emergency Response to COVID-19 on Challenges of Movement of Food and Agricultural Inputs in the Country at the Police Headquarters, Ilorin.
Egbetokun who was represented at the event by the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) in-charge of Operations , Abimbola Sokoya reiterated that inter-state movement of people was banned to check community transmission of the COVID-19 in the country.
He said that any vehicle caught conveying passengers with essential goods would be impounded while the driver would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
The police commissioner who noted that transporters had been flouting the Federal Government’s orders on restriction of inter-state movement before the inauguration of the committee said discouragement of this trend would be one of the major focuses of the committee.
“It is only essential commodities, especially food items and agricultural inputs that were exempted from the restriction imposed on free movement across the country by the Federal Government. This exception was to ensure availability of food items in all the nooks and crannies of the country, particularly in this pandemic period.
“Before the inauguration of this committee, that has been the challenge we have in checking inter states travels by persons. You will see transporters coveying smuggled passengers with farm produce and animals in the guise of transporting agriculture products.Even on Saturday, I was at Jebba … and we are being blamed as security agents for failing to enforce travel ban,” he stated.
Egbetokun, who promised that the team would do everything possible to ensure that its terms of reference as provided by the federal government were met, charged members to constantly communicate with each other and work together to ensure the success of the assignment.
Earlier, in his address of welcome, the Kwara State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Secretary of the Committee, Dare Oladapo urged members of the JTTT to put in their “wealth of experience while carrying out this crucial national assignment so as to protect the life and ensure food security for all Nigerians and foreigners”.
Oladapo said that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muh’d Sabo Nanono in collaboration with his counterpart in the Ministry of Defence, Interior and Police set up the JTTT in all 36 States and FC, Abuja for the purpose of minimal impact of the unseen virus otherwise called COVID-19 on the current year 2020, Nationwide-faming season in line with the directive of President Mohammed Buhari.
He stated the terms and references of the teams to include “working with relevant agencies in the States and Local Government to develop a window that will facilitate free and unhindered movement of food, livestock and agricultural inputs throughout the country without compromising the security and health of the nation.”
Members of the team were drawn from the Nigerian Police Force, NSCDC, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and Federal Ministry of Agriculture And Rural Development (FMARD).
