The Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate for 2023, Peter Obi, has requested that the federal government stop charging inconsistent customs duties because he believes it is hurting businesses in the country.
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has been increasing its foreign exchange (FX) rate for duties since the start of the year.
The agency raised the rate six times in February alone, which is indicative of the volatility in the FX market as a whole.
In a statement published on X on Wednesday, Obi demanded that the government end the arbitrary and continuously rising customs charges.
The lawmaker warned that the scenario “portends a huge danger to the economy” and stated that it is now having a detrimental impact on businesses and product prices.
Such unjust allegations, he claimed, would result in further closure of businesses and attendant job losses.
Obi said if the situation is not corrected, importers may resort to using ports of nearby countries — “a situation that will leave our ports under-productive, and further deepen our economy into a worse situation as a result of loss of revenue”.
“A situation where at the point of initiating importation, Form M and other documents related to importation are based on a particular rate of exchange, for example, N1000 to $1, being the prevailing exchange rate at the time which the importer of goods was used to calculate the entire process, from the import initiation to receipt of goods in his warehouse,” he said.
“Then suddenly when the goods arrive in Nigeria, and duties are calculated at different rates, say N1400 to $1, it becomes a serious business challenge that results in business losses. Worse still, it directly fuels the inflationary spike which is the basis of increasing cost of goods and living.”
Obi called on the government to show consistency in its policies, stating that it would help with economic forecasting and business planning.
“Businesses are dying and manufacturers are shutting down because of the poor and inconsistent economic policies of the government, he said.
“We cannot, afford to target high customs revenues at the expense of the survival of local businesses, employment and reasonable cost of living.”
Obi, advised the government to support businesses, especially those in the manufacturing sector, to keep them afloat and sustain economic growth, stressing that the “small business sector remains the most critical engine of economic growth”.
