The volume of vehicles imported into the country through the nation’s seaports has dropped to an all-time low, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has observed.
Speaking with Journalists in Lagos last week, President General of the union, Comrade Anthony Emmanuel Nted said that the drop has consequently contributed to loss of thousands of jobs inthe maritime industry, adding that the new import duty regime has made importation of vehicles costlier.
He said: "the volume of vehicles imported in Nigeria through Nigerian ports has collapsed to an all-time low, with consequent loss of thousands of jobs in the maritime sector"
"The new duty regime for vehicles was introduced since 2014 and the application of the new rate of exchange for duty calculation have made the importation of cars and trucks in Nigeria far too expensive".
Recalling the effectiveness of RoRo operations in time past, the MWUN PG explained that a significant reduction in the duties applicable on cars and trucks will go a long way to alleviate the challenges being faced by members of the union who are being laid-off.
The Union boss further reiterated that in the last two years ,the number of vehicles imported into the country has declined drastically by almost two third, noting that, however the volume of vehicles smuggled through Cotonou continues to rise unabated.
Nted called on the Federal Government to adopt policies that will revamp the automotive policies with a view to reducing smuggling of vehicles into the country.
He however appealed to the government to put in place measures that will ensure that importation of both new and used vehicles are competitive.
The President General also re-emphasised the need for government to review its position on the automotive policy, and not to inflict any suffering on the workers who are operating in the sector.
"It is therefore necessary that the federal government review its stance on the automotive industry not to inflict anymore suffering on the workers who are already having hard time with price increasing every day. "
"We also call on the Federal Government to review the policy on the ban on importation of some essential commodities such as; vehicle spare parts and industrial machineries until we are able to produce for local consumption”, he advised.
Comrade Nted however stated that failure on the part of the government to do the needful will encourage smuggling, diversion of ships to neighbouring countries, idle ports, retrenchment of workers, unemployment and general loss of revenue to government.
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