nwagbunaese:







My Dear.

Wisdom makes one to know what to do at the right time, the policy is a good one but the timing is wrong. Nigerians are already in a harsh economy, why making things more difficult at this time.

Even before this administration, 70-80% of Nigerians cannot afford a brand new car, and right now alot of people have parked their cars trying to survive this harsh administration.

The president should look for better policies that will reduce hardship for the masses.

lifezone247:
bro I have about six cars on the high sea like this, all landing next year. How on earth did he want me to divert those cars to Lagos while the bill of landing is clearly indicating port of discharge, Cotonou?

saintdennis:
I don't wanna think any lover of naija will hate this policy.

IVM about to expand operations next year if this policy takes off

ngolokante:


True,but if the economic condition is harsh enuf that people can't afford a brand new car and even the tokunbo too as it is now, so why won't we start looking for how to make the markets work for us...the only people that benefit from importation of cars are the politicians who own almost all the car stands(at least) in the North...but with this policy, IVM and other local car makers can grow and employ much more Nigerians than the sellers of tokunbo cars currently employ...there is no better time to do anything other than now...infact going by the old saying, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the next best time to do it is now...imagine if this policy had come into existence 20 or even 10 years ago...IVM would be producing much better cars now and the prices of their car would have dropped and if IVM were to be vibrant and competing favourably with foreign cars in OUR markets, the prices of those cars would have crashed by now too...

Toks2008:


Forget tory my broda. ..

Cars will always come in whichever way..infact Buhari has just opened the way for currupt custom officers because smuggling will now be the only way and the small duty wey dey enta govt purse go cease...I just wonder why Buhari is so backward...There are better ways of doing things...

Fix the dollar first and more importers will pay duty.

Peroti:
Buhari fix the economy first and leave other things to follow suit.

In summary: Buhari is a disaster

Sheggy13:

Nobody likes second hand stuffs, only that it's affordable. If IVM wants patronage, they should make their cars affordable.

Toks2008:


Forget tory my broda. ..

Cars will always come in whichever way..infact Buhari has just opened the way for currupt custom officers because smuggling will now be the only way and the small duty wey dey enta govt purse go cease...I just wonder why Buhari is so backward...There are better ways of doing things...

Fix the dollar first and more importers will pay duty.

lifezone247:
President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged by the House of Representatives to suspend the ban on importation of new and used cars through land borders.

The ban that was announced on December 5, 2016 by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) was due to take off from January 1, 2017.

The lawmakers however said the policy was too harsh as it is bound to pile more economic miseries on the majority of Nigerians that are already groaning under the prevailing economic recession.

The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion by Abdulahi Salame (APC, Sokoto) who noted that the percentage of Nigerians who can afford cars has declined drastically following the decline in the value of naira, inflation, unemployment and high cost of living that has bedeviled Nigeria where over 80 percent of the population live below $200 a day.

Salame noted that, “With its powers under Section 18 of the Customs and Excise Management Act, the government can restrict the movement of goods into and out of Nigeria by land or inland waters and to appoint customs stations, but similar exercise of such powers on rice importation through the land borders in April 2016, has led to untold hardships on Nigerians as a bag of rice now sells for between N20, 000 and N23,000 as against N8,000 few months ago.
“We are also aware that the government has not put in place alternative measures to ensure that Nigerians will have access to cars since it is cheaper to buy cars from neighbouring countries and still generate revenue by ensuring that our borders are secured to prevent smuggling and also that there will not be job losses.

“Meanwhile, some of those making these policies have failed to patronize made-in-Nigeria goods, especially Nigerian assembled vehicles which are, in any case unaffordable to over 80 percent of Nigerians who can only afford fairly used imported cars.

“It is of concern that despite the pitiable state of most Nigerians occasioned by unemployment, lack of funds for survival and high cost of living which has sent many to their early graves, the government is adopting a policy that will further increase the sufferings of the masses at this critical time the country is in recession.

“It is equally worrisome that the ban will cause more harm than good as it will certainly lead to increase in smuggling, deprive poor Nigerians of access to acquiring vehicles, skyrocket the price of cars cleared at the wharf, increase inflation and further mount pressure on the already weak naira and lead to idleness, insecurity and criminality at the border points”.

Lawmakers that spoke in favour of the motion noted that it is the masses that would be affected more by the new policy.

According to them, the reason put forward about payment of duties was not enough to punish the entire country because non-payment of duties was carried out with the active connivance of security officials at the borders.

The lawmakers also argued that the ban was against the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocols on movement of goods and services.
The lawmakers said to implement the policy at a period of recession amount to Nigerians paying for the irresponsibility of agencies that should collect port duties on imported cars.

The lawmakers that supported the policy however noted that most policies of the administration of President Buhari were aimed at correcting fundamental and structural anomalies inherent in the system.

While they regretted that policies of this administration were often misunderstood and attacked, the antagonists of the bill recalled that three decades ago, Nigeria was the hub of economic activities in the sub-region, an advantage that has now been eroded due to reckless importation of unnecessary goods and services.

According to the lawmakers, this has reflected in job loss, with Nigeria not only becoming a dumping ground but also losing its technological development potentials to her neighbours.

They noted that as long as the government refused to do what it supposed to do by taking hard decisions, the country will remain on the path that has taken Nigeria nowhere so far.

As part of their resolution, the lawmakers urged the Federal government to ensure that the law enforcement agencies, especially those working at the borders, are diligent in their duties by ensuring that import charges through the land borders are paid when due and remitted to the government.

The House also urged the Federal government to install border security and surveillance equipment for effective monitoring to address the recurring menace of smuggling and ensure a maximum revenue generation on all lawfully imported goods.

The lawmakers equally urged the Federal government to expand its plan on youths empowerment programs by developing skills acquisition centers in border areas so as to enable the youth to acquire skills necessary for the type of businesses that are being carried out in the border areas and also employ more people from those areas into the border security agencies as they have relevant experiences on how goods are being moved in and out of the country.

Committees on Governmental Affairs and Customs and Excise were mandated to ensure implementation of the resolutions and report back within six weeks for further legislative action.

The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

http://thenationonlineng.net/reps-buhari-suspend-ban-importation-cars-land-borders/

Peroti:
Buhari fix the economy first and leave other things to follow suit.

In summary: Buhari is a disaster

soulpeppersoup:


80% live on less than $1 a day. $1 = 480.

Atiku2019:
where over 80 percent of the population live below $200 a day.


; $2 or $200

rafindo:
.u are even daft than the the president how can u support the dollar if u don't patronized ur own

austin2all:




are you guys in this country at all, do you know how many nigerians that live on less than just 200 naira per day. my neighbor lost his 15 year old son just last month due to this hardship. BUHARI IS A DISASTER TO THIS COUNTRY.

nwagbunaese:







My Dear.

Wisdom makes one to know what to do at the right time, the policy is a good one but the timing is wrong. Nigerians are already in a harsh economy, why making things more difficult at this time.

Even before this administration, 70-80% of Nigerians cannot afford a brand new car, and right now alot of people have parked their cars trying to survive this harsh administration.

The president should look for better policies that will reduce hardship for the masses.

soulpeppersoup:


80% live on less than $1 a day. $1 = 480.

Toks2008:


Forget tory my broda. ..

Cars will always come in whichever way..infact Buhari has just opened the way for currupt custom officers because smuggling will now be the only way and the small duty wey dey enta govt purse go cease..

lifezone247:
bro I have about six cars on the high sea like this, all landing next year. How on earth did he want me to divert those cars to Lagos while the bill of landing is clearly indicating port of discharge, Cotonou?

rafindo:
.u are even daft than the the president how can u support the dollar if u don't patronized ur own

femmy2010:
But wait a minute.
The Government didn't ban the importation of used cars into the Country, it only said ship it into the Country directly.

Who would be at disadvantage?
1 - Government of neighboring Countries
2 - Car sellers in Neighboring Countries
3 - Nigerian Customs personal at the Land borders who rely on booking(bribe)
4 - Shipping company workers in Cotonou
5 - Smugglers


Who would b at Advantage

1 - Nigerian Government would have more revenue into his coffers
2 - Nigerian terminal operators would get more vehicle import traffic into their terminal.
3 - Terminal operators would able to help their workers keep their jobs Cos I t increase In imports.
4 - Seaport based licensed Custom clearing agent would have more jobs to do .
5 - Nigerian car sellers would sell more than they hitherto do.


In a nutshell I would say the policy is most beneficial to Nigeria and Nigerians.

saintjoel:


What about the rest of us operating legitimate businesses around the border. My brother just invited N3m+ in a DTI and it's all going to waste by January..... abg,we sef wan eat o.

lifezone247:
bro I have about six cars on the high sea like this, all landing next year. How on earth did he want me to divert those cars to Lagos while the bill of landing is clearly indicating port of discharge, Cotonou?

TonyeBarcanista:
This policy is naturally a good one but it is unfortunate that implementation will be abused and would only make custom agents at the land borders richer.

Aliyu333:
It is the north that suffers most from his stupid policies. Imagine where they will get the water to import rice or cars from??.

nwagbunaese:







My Dear.

Wisdom makes one to know what to do at the right time, the policy is a good one but the timing is wrong. Nigerians are already in a harsh economy, why making things more difficult at this time.

Even before this administration, 70-80% of Nigerians cannot afford a brand new car, and right now alot of people have parked their cars trying to survive this harsh administration.

The president should look for better policies that will reduce hardship for the masses.

bashydemy:


What happen to you shipping them through Lagos seaports? Instead of shipping through your country seaport and paying duty and tax to your country you decide to take it to another country and enriching them but you want magic from Buhari..... you are one of the enemies of our country...


I based in Cotonou and am into car business but if banning of cars through Land borders will help our countries am in supports...


We have enough seaports in Nigeria and Benin Republic have one one seaport, We have enough lands to turn in parcs Alot of Federal Govt lands along Badagry road, Also Lagos Abeokuta Exp road and also Lagos Ibadan Exp road. I also believe we have so many lands that can be turn to local parcs and we will be able to be selling like they do here in Cotonou.. I can also started buying cars and shipping them to Lagos and started selling in Nigeria all the Govt need do is reduce the duties of cars.....


Like in Benin, Cars from 1900 to to 2100 we clear them same price.. So if it's same in Nigeria then we are good to go...

Toks2008:


Forget tory my broda. ..

Cars will always come in whichever way..infact Buhari has just opened the way for currupt custom officers because smuggling will now be the only way and the small duty wey dey enta govt purse go cease...I just wonder why Buhari is so backward...There are better ways of doing things...

Fix the dollar first and more importers will pay duty.

givan:
This Reps self! I thought they where supposed 2 be on d side of d masses? Don't they knw dat importation of cars via land borders make it cheaper?