Story by Dili Utomi.
The feeling of anger by stakeholders which greeted the implementation of the free on board levy charged on cargoes coming into Nigeria seems not ebbing inspite of the suspension of the collection of the levy by the authorities of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
At the various Commands where the Customs personnel there organised sensitisation parleys, speakers after speakers on the side of the stakeholders condemned the hike in the FOB levy and its subsequent implementation Service-Wide over the past week. This continued even as the Customs authorities put out a press release detailing the suspension of the implementation of the new charges and the steps taken to improve service and efficiency.
The suspension of the implementation of the free on board (FOB) levy which the Service has maintained went through extensive discussions, consultations and debate in the national assembly before being passed into law has still not cooled tempers.
A press briefing was held on Wednesday at the Apapa office of the Safe Nigeria group by its founder, Chief Osita Chukwu who has categorically called for the resignation of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi and the Minister of Finance, Olawale Edun for “neglecting to give proper advise to the government” as he said.
Chief Chukwu noted that what was agreed by stakeholders to be in the act was a 4% increase in the derivation that accrued to the Nigeria Customs Service from all the levies and duties paid on goods and not a hike in the percentage on free on board (FOB) levy as presented in the act. He called this action of those he said changed the original agreement as “wicked”.
Chief Chukwu lamented the economic hardships being faced by Nigerians now and wondered why “anybody will want to put additional burdens on Nigerians whose economic situations have become worse than ever before. We categorically call on the government to remove this 4% increase and revert to the original percentage being charged on the cargoes through FOB”.
On Tuesday the 11th of February, the Nigeria Customs Service through its national public relations officer, Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada released a press statement that partly says “The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) hereby announces the suspension of the implementation of 4% Free-on-Board (FOB) value on imports as provided in Section 18(1)(a) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCSA) 2023. This is sequel to ongoing consultations with the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Olawale Edun and other Stakeholders”.
The statement also detailed a few elements of the Customs act of 2023 which says “The Act further empowers the Service to modernise its operations through various technological innovations. Specifically, Section 28 of the NCSA 2023 authorises developing and maintaining electronic systems for information exchange between the Service, Other Government Agencies, and traders. The Service is already implementing several digital solutions, including the recently deployed B’Odogwu clearance system, which stakeholders are benefiting from through faster clearance times and improved transparency. Other innovative solutions authorised by the Act include; Single Window implementation (Section 33), Risk management systems (Section 32), Non-intrusive inspection equipment (Section 59) and Electronic data exchange facilities (Section 33(3))”. These are all geared towards making the NCS an efficient entity”.
Chief Chukwu is of the opinion that as a public relations guru, the Comptroller-General of Customs should have been in a better position to feel the pulse of the people and to know the consequences of implementing such a hike in levy at this moment in time and should have advised the government against the implementation, but rather to revert to the old rate. He also asked the Minister for Finance, Olawale Edun to resign for only focusing on internally generated revenue (IGR) and thinking less of the Human Development Index (HDI) thereby leaving most Nigerians pauperised, traumatised and only in existential living.
We made a call to the NPRO Customs, AC Abdullahi Maiwada to speak on the suggestions of Chief Chukwu for the CGC and the Minister to resign and he maintained that the Service’s position on the matter is what he stands by and that consultations are still going on with stakeholders on the way forward.
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