The Nigerian Federal Government, through the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), said it had signed an agreement with the Mexican government to increase the export of Hibiscus plant from Nigeria to Mexico.
It said the deal would generate an annual revenue of $3bn to Nigeria.
However, the FG revealed that the United States rejected two containers of hibiscus exported from Nigeria due to the failure of the exporter to obtain the required export certificates from the NAQS.
In his keynote address at the 4th Summit and Management Retreat of the NAQS, the agency’s Comptroller General, Dr. Vincent Isegbe, noted that notwithstanding the challenges associated with the export of agricultural produce, agro-export intensification would help Nigeria to boost its overall agricultural productivity.
“It will help to generate sustainable wealth, and improve household incomes among the large swath of the 70% of our population that are engaged in agriculture and agro-allied industries,” he stated.
On the deal with Mexico, he said, “Last month, on November 4, to be precise, NAQS and its Mexican counterpart body, SENASICA, signed a phytosanitary protocol to stabilise and grow the export of Nigerian hibiscus flowers (zobo) to Mexico.
“The framework is designed to future-proof bilateral trade in hibiscus between Nigeria and the largest importer of Nigerian hibiscus against avoidable disruptions. With the signing of the hibiscus work plan, Nigeria will earn $3bn annually from exporting hibiscus to Mexico.”
Asked if there had been any rejection of agro-exports from Nigeria recently while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the summit, Isegbe replied, “Yes. In fact, the one that happened last week was because somebody exported hibiscus to the US and there was no certification.
“He did not carry any document, did not pass through the quarantine service and those consignments have been returned. We have intercepted the consignments; we are looking for who the owner is and the person is yet to report.”
He said the agency recently met with the freight forwarders association to urge the council to ensure that all agents who deal with the quarantine service are registered by the council.
He added, “This is to avoid fake clearing and forwarding agents, who may not necessarily inform the original owners or exporters of those products.”
Isegbe said the agency was currently investigating how the exporter was able to ship the consignments without the customs and quarantine services knowing.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")