From Isaac Anumihe
The National Assembly’s move to stop the Federal Government from implementing the ban on importation of vehicles through land border has put the seaport importers and the land border importers on collision course.
Senate, last week, unanimously rejected the Federal Government’s ban on importation of vehicles through land borders into the country. The red chamber described the policy as anti-people and meant to impoverish Nigerians.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, specifically urged President Muhammadu Buhari, to listen to the cries of Nigerians and rescind the decision.
“From the contributions here, it is obvious that the policy is unpopular. We are representatives of the people and the people have spoken through us that they do not want this policy. I think those in authority should listen to them,” Ekweremadu said.
The Senate’s position generated a chain of reactions from both the seaport importers and land border importers, with each party accusing the other of sabotage.
According to the Co-ordinator of Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders (SNFF), Chief Patrick Chukwu, the senators took such a position because they are involved in importing bullet-proof cars and other heavy cars with little or no duties.
“The Senate is using its powers to bring in cars from the border because most of the cars are bullet-proof and combat cars. They bring them in from the border because they don’t want to pay duty. Some of the bullet-proof cars pay up to N30 million or N25 million as the case may be. So, they want to carry it through the border and pay N2 million or N1 million.
“So, if actually the senators are sincere, I don’t believe they could allow a thing of this nature at all to be a problem. They would even align themselves with the presidency because they want to avoid paying the correct duty” he said.
The seaport importers, under the aegis of Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), extolled the ban but with a caveat that the Federal Government should remove the high import duty on vehicles back to 10 per cent.
The spokesman of the association, Mr. Bolaji Akinola, said: “The simple thing to do is to revert the Customs duty to 10 per cent it was before 2014. There is nothing wrong with the land border policy. We are in support of the ban on vehicles through the land border,” he said.
Supporting the Senate’s move, a land importer, Mr. Eddy Akwaeze, revealed that the seaport importers indulge in smuggling and sabotage. He added that the implementation of the ban will send many youths to crime.
“Even in Apapa and Tin Can, people still smuggle vehicles. Are they claiming ignorant of that? They still do what we call bonded packing. That is when they put cargo in the centre, from front to the middle or to the fourth couch, they put a vehicle inside. Some of them will carry the vehicle in the name that they are transferring the container. So, there is no way we can stop smuggling in totality. If they want to be fair to themselves, they should look at the massive duty collection before the ban. You will discover that nothing less than 65 per cent revenue was generated through vehicles and Seme was able to meet its target. If they can reverse that it would enhance a lot of things,” he said.
Also, the Chairman of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (Seme Border Chapter), Alhaji Bisiriyu Lasis Fanu, said that since the implementation of the ban on vehicles through land border, many young men and women have been rendered jobless and even some Customs officers are rendered redundant because the people who are in the business are no more doing anything again.