Two leading freight forwarding associations in the maritime sector- the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reduce the number of trade items on the import prohibition list.
There are about 45 headings under which goods have been listed by the Nigeria Customs Service as prohibited items that must not be imported.
National President of NAGAFF; Chief Eugene Nweke in a chat with Shipping Position Daily last week said that rather than list the items as prohibition, government should allow their importation and introduce a tariff measures to control their importation.
The NAGAFF President said no goods should be prohibited except those on absolute prohibition, and that every goods should be allowed to come in. He said government should rather use tariff bars to regulate it and enable Nigeria Customs Service collect revenues.
He noted that if this is not done, the banned goods will continue to come into Nigeria through un-approved routes.
“As a professional freight forwarder and with my understanding of international trade, I do know that in line with the WTO Trade Liberalization Scheme which Nigeria is signatory to, developed nations are encouraged not to place ban on international traded goods, rather they should use tariff measures and bars to regulate importation”
“By so doing you can allow goods to come in without hindrance, for now, government should concentrate its effort on putting in place the needed infrastructure and policy measures that will promote exportation” Nweke said
He called on the government to ensure that the management of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) are made to do their job to ensure that goods coming into Nigeria are of high standard.
He noted that “when you allow substandard goods to come in, it will not allow the local manufacturers prosper”
“65percent of goods in Nigerian markets are substandard products, forget about the issue of certification. This is what they should look at before looking at placing ban” he said
Also speaking, National President of AREFFN, Dr. Frank Ukor noted that there are so many goods on the prohibition list and these goods cannot contribute any revenue to the government.
He advocated for the government to reduce the goods on the list and allow the Nigeria Customs Service to champion the cause.
“Let government reduce to the barest minimum all these products that is prohibited and they will realize a lot of revenue from that, customs will champion the cause, but they will not want to because they are making a lot of money from it”
“The goods were banned under the guise of empowering local manufacturers but they still find their way into the country, who is deceiving who? When you ban it, customs will be very happy because they will collect bribe and still allow the goods to come in”
“I was very happy when the CG lifted ban on rice importation through the borders, by the time they streamline these areas and plug up these loopholes, they will surpass their targets” he said
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