Incessant increase in tariff, a deliberate action by Finance Ministry to sabotage Nigeria Customs Service – Declares APFFLON

Incessant increase in tariff, a deliberate action by Finance Ministry to sabotage Nigeria Customs Service – Declares APFFLON

The backlash triggered by incessant hike in import duty has taken a new dimension, as African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria- APFFLON, described it as a deliberate attempt by Ministry of Finance to sabotage the efforts of Nigeria Customs Service in achieving its objectives.

The National President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, made this declaration, calling on Freight Forwarders and their importers to blame the Ministry of Finance and the management of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN; not Customs.

Otunba Ogunojemite said this when reacting to continuous increase in customs duties, saying it is beyond the control of Nigeria Customs Service, but rather a deliberate action by Ministry of Finance.

His exact words; “Recall that twice in two straight months, the apex bank has raised Customs duty from N951.941 per dollar to N1. 356 /$. A development that requires that the importers raise more funds to clear their cargoes at the seaports, airports and land borders.

“According to information obtained from Customs Website, the exchange rate for cargo clearing was adjusted by 45.5%.

“In a later shocking development on Saturday morning, less than 24hours before the N1,356 increase, Customs Duty Exchange Rate rose again to N1,413/$, throwing freight forwarders and their importers into serious confusion.”

He went on ; “Meanwhile, there has been serious outrage among maritime practitioners over what they describe as “very unfriendly situation” that continues to emasculate businesses.”

Thus, while some people are throwing the blame at Nigeria Customs Service- NCS, the National President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite is rather calling on Freight Forwarders and all concerned to haul the whole blame on Ministry of Finance and the CBN under the watch of Mr. Olayemi Cardoso.

Ogunojemite, who advised freight forwarders to join forces with the Civil Society groups, the Nigeria Labour Congress and trade unions to redeem the masses from excruciating economic situation, which in his words, is clearly a result of  incompetence on the side of the current managers of the economy.

The APFFLON President berated the Ministry of Finance and the CBN for losing control of the Naira, which has warranted its free fall. He regreted the level of hardship being experienced by Nigerians, saying that the upward revision of Customs Duty Exchange Rate would continue to hit harder on the masses who are the end users .

According to Ogunojemite; “Customs has no hand in incessant increase in tariff, it should be blamed on the CBN under the watch of Mr. Olayemi Cardozo and his counterparts at the Federal Ministry of Finance. What we are witnessing today is as a result of incompetence on the side of those managing our economy. Businesses are closing shops, manufacturers are shutting down. The ports are almost deserted because freight forwarders have no jobs any more. ”

Economic experts have said that the hike would have huge implications on the prices of imported goods already being pressured by surging inflation.

The recent increase is about the fifth exchange rate adjustment the port industry has witnessed after the Service started implementation of floating foreign exchange rate regime by the CBN in July 2023; and fifth since the coming into power of the new government.

On server failure, Ogunojemite noted that the attitude of Finance ministry towards redeeming the economic situation has increasingly proven to be lukewarm. He faulted the ministry for upholding a contractual agreement with Webb Fontaine, saying that the outfit has only succeeded in making nonsense of government policy on Ease of Doing Business.

According to Ogunojemite, ” until the Ministry of Finance resolves to get essential service providers, Webb Fontaine will continue to take Nigerians for granted. If nothing is done to keep them on their toes, also to address the challenges posed by perennial gridlock at Ports access roads, the core essence of the Federal Government’s policy on Ease of Doing Business will never be actualised.”