The President of National Association of Chamber of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Dele Oye, has advocated for customs duties to be charged in Naira rather than foreign currency, emphasizing the government’s commitment to conducting business in the national currency.
Oye in a televised programme monitored by our correspondent criticized the current practice, calling for consistency and stability in FX rates to support businesses’ planning.
Additionally, he urges the CBN to sustain recent forex reforms, highlighting the need for targeted interventions in the market, particularly for businesses importing raw materials for production.
He stated, “Government must not be seen to be making money off trade. Customs is a trade facilitation unit and the customs has no business charging the FX index rate. We should use the Form M rate which is a percentage of it and that is what you should use.
“If the government is saying it believes in naira, it must charge in naira for its services. We don’t have a dollar problem, we have a naira problem. The government should show by its own actions that it must conduct its business in Naira.
“Why are you saying people should do business in naira, but you are calculating your customs duties in FX? This kind of thing does not work anywhere in the world.”
