The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has expressed optimism that the nation's Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) currency swap agreement with the People's Bank of China (PBoC) will boost importation of cargoes into Nigeria.
Speaking exclusively with Shipping Position Daily yesterday, the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) chapter chairman of ANLCA, Nze Alloy Igwe said the currency swap agreement is a welcome development that will lead to increase in importation.
He however lamented that the Ease of Doing Business policy of the federal government is still a mirage especially at the airport.
He noted that government agencies working at the airport were still frustrating the policy.
On the use of Chinese Yuan for importation, the ANLCA chairman said the Yuan would now be more accessible for importers both home and abroad and for opening of Form M. He lamented that accessing the Forex and the US Dollars has been a major impediment for importation.
"We have not started feeling the impact, we know that it is still at the formative stage and the teething problems should be there, but I tell you that by the time it finally takes-off, it will accelerate importation, it would really accelerate it because now, we are now having options, unlike when it was concentrated on sourcing for Forex with particular reference to American US dollars"
"Now from Nigeria or abroad, you can import cargoes and the exchange is there for you to settle your bills, the policy will shore-up the level of importation"
Igwe said the attitude of some government agencies has contributed a lot in affecting the Ease of Doing Business policy of the Federal Government, he stressed that it is a wonderful policy but it would take time before stakeholders would start seeing the realities of what government had in mind before introducing the policy.
"The fact remains that there are still some impediments that would make cargo clearance un-achievable, but by and large, we are used to the difficulty on making things happen in this country"
"In terms of ease of doing business, a lot of policies are involved in the policy on ease of doing business, it isn't wonderful policy from the government, but when you think about a lot of variables, we discovered that the policy on ease of doing business may be a mirage for now, there are lots of factors working against it"
"Take for instance, the access road to the airport, the ongoing road construction is affecting us, or if you are going to the seaport you encounter bad roads, it would take you a good number of hours, if not even days before you can access the seaport. So, this is a hindrance to the policy on ease of doing business, maybe it is a temporary hindrance but for now it is" he said
Meanwhile, Igwe has said that the ongoing construction of the airport road was affecting operations at the airport.
Shipping Position Daily correspondent who visited the chapter yesterday noted that part of the perimeter fences of ANLCA secretariat has been pulled down by the state government due to the road construction.
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