₦airaland Forum

tuoyoojo:
How to kick start the economy

Encourage the growth of small and medium scale enterprises by reduce excess taxation, provide affordable power, cheap transportation and access road

Ensure the refineries are working and reduce our over dependency on oil

Invest in manufacturing and education

Speedy prosecution of financial fraud, starting from the top, no matter who you are. Make an example of 5 or 6 big men and see how everyone would fall in line

Above all , reduce govt spending spending or budget inflation and see how things would turn around

nairalandkachy1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKkSRVrTPcg

RepoMan007:
You don't know who you talking to. He is irredeemable. Claiming a thing that cost N800 will be sold for N40 is his way of blurring out the finer derails that proves subsidy can be sustained. The people our go is buying from in India and singapore dothey sel it to our govt at N40 after producing at N800 a litre? Never. It is just a matter of buying from local refiners and selling at whatever subsidized rate the govt likes. Refiners makes profit while gov makes the loss on behalf of same people who the govt is serving.

nairalanda1:
At the end, when you sell something less than the cost of producing it, you would end up with corruption and looting...because you are attacking somene's right to make a profit.

Why do we have scarcity of petrol, but no scarcity of bread? Because bread is sold at a profit in Nigeria. Petrol is not.

Bring in a subsidy, corruption wills et in in the sector being subsidised.

Plus even IF YOU ELIMINATE CORRUPTION, all your problem is not solved.

If we kept petrol at N195...our subsidy costs would have gone up from N400 per liter in may to N700-800 per liter by now. Buhari did not budget any money for subsidy beyond June. The money for the increase will come from other sectors of the budget, causing a deficit...which has to be filled in by loans.

nairalanda1:
Am afraid you missed my point completely

When you bring in a subsidy for anything, you encourage corruption and looting, because the price control inherent in subsides means that there would be no profits made.

Thus money would be made by illegitimate means. Add the fact that subsidy is free money.

I am not saying corruption and greed in nigeria...all of it...comes from fuel subsidy.

nairalanda1:
Corruption and greediness fostered by subsidy.

Lagos feels different, the boisterous - often chaotic - energy that drives Nigeria's commercial centre has been subdued by the removal of a fuel subsidy that had kept the price of petrol low for decades in Africa's largest economy.

Since June, fuel costs have tripled, leading transport fares to shoot up and forcing many employees to return to the pandemic era by working from home.

Many private cars are off the roads. And with fewer passengers to tussle over, some of the yellow, fume-belching buses, pride of the city's eternal hustle spirit, now idle at motor parks.

The notorious miles-long traffic jams have drastically reduced.

This bustling city of an estimated 20 million people is quieter, but for once that is not a good thing.

What Lagos has gained in tranquillity it has lost economically since President Bola Tinubu abruptly ended the supply of cheap fuel in his first day in office at the end of May.

Oil-rich Nigeria, he said, could no longer afford to subsidise petrol which was costing billions of dollars a year.

Mr Tinubu also ended currency restrictions that had been put in place by the previous government, and while many experts agree that it was the right thing to do, it has led to a weakening of the local currency.

The double whammy of rising fuel costs and a weak currency has sent the economy into a tailspin, and nowhere is the biting hardship more apparent than in Lagos - a commercial behemoth that is often a snapshot of the rest of the country.

Many small businesses have packed up, and some low-income earners who live in the suburbs of the mainland and commute to the business districts on Lagos Island have stopped going to work.

"I was spending 600 naira a day on transport, it jumped to 1,000 naira. By the end of the month I was spending all my salary on transport," a cleaner said, adding that she had been forced to resign from her job.

She lives in Ikorodu, a congested part of Lagos state, which is popular with low-income earners.

Previously, the 41km (25 miles) between Ikorodu and upmarket Victoria Island took two-three hours during rush hour. Now, it can be done in 45-50 minutes.

Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that when compared to the second quarter of 2022, the contribution of road transport to the economy within the same period this year fell by around 47%.

As that data only captured one month since the policy changed, things could be even worse now.

That economic hit would have been mostly felt in Lagos, home of Nigeria's busiest port and the city that the Nigerian president prides himself on building.

He was right to remove [the] subsidy but not at this time, not without fixing the refineries," said professor of Economics Uchechi Ogbuagu. Because Nigeria's oil refineries are not functioning, most fuel is actually imported.

"An essential commodity like energy - if you tamper with the price, there will be a multiplier effect," he said.

What to do with the expensive fuel subsidy was one of the major talking-points before elections earlier this year, with almost all economists and politicians agreeing that it had to go.

Nigeria was spending money it did not have to keep fuel prices low and it was no longer sustainable, the arguments went.

Previous investigations found that the system was riddled with corruption, and as was evident after it was stopped, a large portion of the subsidised fuel was smuggled to neighbouring countries where it was sold at higher rates.

Some experts and government agencies argued that the fuel subsidy benefited rich Nigerians more than the poor, while opponents said removing it would inflict hardship on the latter group.

But even among those who wanted the subsidy gone was an admission that it needed to be done in phases, certain things had to be put in place first.

The labour unions wanted the local refineries working, the main opposition wanted government to get out of the oil-importation market.

Others asked for subsidised transportation - especially to move farm products, and there were also questions about how the money saved would be used.

But despite having some of these in his manifesto, Mr Tinubu used an off-the-cuff remark in his first speech as president to remove the subsidy, initially sending the system into shock before prices went up.

"I was possessed with courage and I said 'subsidy is gone'," Mr Tinubu said of his now-famous remark on 29 May.

"We are tired of feeding smugglers, making few people rich and subsidising the next-door neighbour," he later said at a function in France.

With prices of petrol up, small businesses like the popular motorcycle food-delivery companies, that provided employment to young people, have had to rethink their strategies.

Some workers have been laid off while others like Happiness Emmanuel have resorted to using bicycles for deliveries, a rare sight in the scorching heat of Lagos, where there is a lack of bicycle lanes.

"I make more money and it is less expensive to maintain," he told the BBC at his food court location in the Ikeja area.

Some of his colleagues have also started using bicycles because of the high cost of fuel, he said.

Even the city's Bus Rapid Transport, which recently added electric buses to its fleet, has seen an upsurge by as much as 30%, a spokesman told the BBC.

This was helped by prices that were halved by the government, he said.

The state is also commencing operations on its metro system on Monday, and its affordable fares should get more residents on the move again.

President Tinubu announced in early August that more than 1 trillion naira ($1.3bn; £1bn) had been saved since subsidy was removed - money that otherwise would have gone to "smugglers and fraudsters", he said.

He acknowledged the hardship, asked people to "look beyond the present temporary pains," and assured that saved funds would benefit families.

Tuition loans have been introduced for poor families with children in university and talks are ongoing for the minimum wage to be raised.

The government has also distributed grains, announced plans to convert cars from fuel to gas, while some states have introduced electric buses.

For some, the current realities put an end to the arguments about who benefits from the fuel subsidy. Many want it back and now argue that fuel subsidy is not a bad if it can be ring-fenced from corruption.

"Subsidy, if implemented well, benefits all," said Prof Ogbuagu.

"Everybody was buying fuel at the same price. The poor may not have lots of TVs and fridges, but transport fares would be low," he said.

Mr Tinubu has assured that there are no further plans for petrol prices to rise - which ought to happen as the naira weakened further - all but signalling that the subsidy was back.

He has also announced his cabinet, filling up important posts that are crucial in driving the economy.

It demonstrates how difficult it is to do away with what is a popular policy, even for President Tinubu who has often boasted of having the will to carry out difficult decisions.

He will not be the first Nigerian president to walk back on the scrapping of the fuel subsidy, though predecessors faced far stiffer opposition, such as nationwide protests in 2012.

There have been pockets of protests in some states against the hardship and the labour unions staged lacklustre demonstrations but they barely registered.

Such demonstrations have often kicked off in Lagos in the past, with other parts of Nigeria feeding off its energy to join in.

But for once, the city that never sleeps is low on fumes, literally and metaphorically.

There has been a dramatic rise in Ukraine's number of dead, according to new estimates by unnamed US officials. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville has been on the front line in the east, where the grim task of counting the dead has become a daily reality.

The unknown soldiers lie piled high in a small brick mortuary, not very far from the front line in Donetsk, where 26-year-old Margo says she speaks to the dead.

"It may sound weird… but I'm the one who wants to apologise for their deaths. I want to thank them somehow. It's as if they can hear, but they can't respond."

At her cluttered desk outside the mortuary's heavy door, she sits, pen in hand. It is her job to record the particulars of the fallen.

Ukraine gives no official toll of its war dead - the Ukrainian armed forces have reiterated that their war casualty numbers are a state secret - but Margo knows the losses are huge.

The figures remain classified. But US officials, quoted by the New York Times, recently put the number at 70,000 dead and as many as 120,000 injured. It is a staggering figure, from an armed forces estimated at only half a million strong. The UN has recorded 9,177 civilian deaths to date.

On Margo's inside right arm is a small tattoo of a mother and child, with the birthdate of her son recorded. Her manicured nails are painted in Ukrainian colours. She wears a black T-shirt with the words "I'M UKRAINIAN" on the front.

"The hardest is when you see a dead young guy who hasn't even reached 20, 22 years old. And realising they didn't die their own death," she says. "They were killed. They were killed for their own land. That's the most painful. You cannot get used to this. It's now getting to the point where it's just about [helping] the boys reach home."

The most difficult day of her life, she says, was when her common-law husband was brought into the mortuary on the day he died. Twenty-three-year-old Andre was killed in battle on 29 December 2022.

"He died while defending his motherland," she says. "But then, for the umpteenth time, I've convinced myself that I should be here, I should be helping the fallen."

The job has made her hard - like steel, she says. And no matter how painful it is to see the bodies being brought into the mortuary, she says she never cries in public.

"I keep all of this inside me [until] the evening when I come home. No-one sees my tears."

[b]As recently as April, leaked estimates from the Pentagon put Ukrainian deaths at the much lower figure of 17,500. The alleged jump to more than 70,000 can be partly explained by the counter-offensive in the south. In its early days it was especially hard on Ukrainian infantry - "worse than Bakhmut" [/b]one brigade commander who is fighting there told me. The city in Donestsk fell to Russia in May in one of the bloodiest battles of the war so far.

Ukraine has now changed tactics there, but the beginning of the push to breach Russia's occupation defences in June was costly, for young newly trained soldiers in particular. They were dying "by the dozens" every day, one senior sergeant fighting around the Donetsk village of Velyka Novosilka told me in June.

At the mortuary, one of a number along the front line, they work to put names to the unknown soldiers, who come direct from the battlefield.

Body bags are brought outside, one at a time, and the search for clues begins. Inside the first body bag is the corpse of a young man, his eyes still open, his hands folded carefully across his lap. His face is cut, and there is a gash on the side of his leg. Another body is brought out, the fingers missing on the right hand, blood and battlefield mud stain his uniform.

Their pockets are cut open by mortuary staff, still full of the artefacts of everyday life - keys, a mobile phone, a wallet with family snaps. In death, these items are now clues that might reunite the unidentified with their families.

Written in black marker pen on another body bag, the word "Unidentified" is scored out and replaced with a man's name and army company details.

More body bags emerge, but reporting restrictions don't allow me to say how many.

A group of soldiers - commanders of various ranks - arrive in an army pick-up truck and pace outside the mortuary, smoking cigarettes. They inspect one body, to see if the soldier is from their platoon, company or battalion. It looks like he was killed in an artillery strike - part of his head is missing and the wounds to his body are severe, even worse when he is turned over.

"This is difficult. Unpleasant. But it's needed, part of our job. We have to give the boys a proper send-off," says a deputy battalion commander who goes by the call sign "Avocat".

More men from his unit will be brought to aid in the identification of the body, he says.

The reality of the scale of casualties is laid bare in Ukraine's cemeteries.

In the late afternoon sun around Krasnopilske cemetery in Dnipro, the heads of the sunflowers hang heavy - an honour-guard for the freshly dug graves that spread ever closer to the perimeter.

At one such graveside, 31-year-old Oksana weeps alone. Pictures of her dead husband Pavlo gaze down on her. The bearded and brawny junior sergeant was a power-lifting champion and personal trainer. He was killed during Ukraine's previous counter-offensive, near the city of Izium in November when a missile from a Russian helicopter struck his convoy.

He voluntarily went to defend our country," Oksana says. "He was a warrior at heart - freedom loving. He was the embodiment of our Ukrainian spirit."

It took time to identify Pavlo's body - he, along with others in the car, was badly burnt. Eventually he was recognised by a tattoo.

The yellow and blue of Ukrainian flags whip above each grave in the gentle breeze - there are hundreds of them. Each is a marker in the great tide of loss that sweeps daily across eastern and southern battlefields, filling cemeteries in towns and villages the length and breadth of Ukraine

A year and a half into this war, few families here have been left untouched by grief.

But still, there appears to be no slackening in the will to fight. If anything, the losses have, for now, galvanised the determination for victory.

Oksana and Pavlo made a wartime pact that if he died, she would join the military. For the past two months she's been serving as part of an aerial surveillance drone unit, on the outskirts of Bakhmut.

A week after we met in the cemetery, Oksana is in full body armour and heading to a forward position in search of a Russian anti-tank unit which is targeting Ukrainian forces. When we get there, the sound of artillery, almost entirely outgoing fire, is deafening.

I ask her why she put herself in harm's way? It is her moral duty, she says, as she plays with the silver wedding ring on her right hand.

She says: "I just need to continue what he started. So, all his efforts were not in vain. Volunteering and donations are all good, but I want to be a part of it, a part of our victory in the future."

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar earlier released a statement warning that those who release casualty numbers would be liable to criminal prosecution.

"Why is this data secret?" she asked rhetorically. "Because during the active phase of the war, the enemy uses the number of dead and wounded to calculate our likely further actions… If the enemy has this information, they will begin to understand some of our next steps."

The toll of the war hangs heavy on the men of the 68th Jaeger Brigade, who are fighting to stop Russian advances on the eastern front, near the town of Kupiansk.

In 35C-plus temperatures, we sought some shelter under camouflage netting, away from the midday heat and the ever-present danger of Russian drones. A deputy battalion commander who goes by the call-sign "Lermontov" was in a reflective and dark mood. Over freshly brewed coffee, he predicted a long war.

The Russians won't stop, he said, "you can't negotiate with them". The West doesn't understand this. Young soldiers who expected to be home in a year realise now, he said, they will be gone longer.

He is a veteran of the fight in Donbas, he's been fighting Russia and its proxies since 2014. How long then did he expect this war to last? "Another 10 years," he replied.

His grim mood was understandable. On 1 August, the brigade's sergeant major and two other sergeants were killed in a single Russian mortar strike. "He was a legend," Lermontov said. The dead man's car was parked where he had left it, a few feet away. His personal belongings still inside.

As we spoke, Lermontov's phone buzzed. It was the mother of a soldier killed the week before. She wanted to know why young men with guns were being sent to attack Russian trenches if Ukraine had been gifted so much modern Western weaponry. But on this 600-mile front line many brigades lack the latest armoured vehicles or long-range guns. The reality is that in many of the trenches, Ukrainian soldiers have to make do. "I don't have an answer for her, she doesn't understand… we don't have everything," he told me.

At a medal ceremony, in the garden of a house which serves as a company base, I meet the brigade's commander, Colonel Oleksii. He had just returned from the sergeant major's funeral.

He told me: "We had two big [Russian attacks]. I think we were very successful, we found around 35 bodies. So I think basically we demolished one company."

Overall Russia's casualties are far greater, some 120,000 dead according to the latest US estimate. But its army, and population, is far larger. Ukrainian soldiers at the front line say Russia's ability to absorb pain appears limitless.

I ask Colonel Oleksii what he tells the families of the fallen.

"I just ask for forgiveness that I have not provided enough safety. Maybe I was a bad leader, bad planning. And I thank them for what they gave for this fight."

HonNL:
https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/man-utd-official-club-statement-on-mason-greenwood-21-august-2023

Kukutente23:
Lol. It's back. Stop repeating same thing like a disc jockey
You were not blind when NNPCL took a $3bn loan recently to be paid with crude oil

plaindealer:
https://www.thecable.ng/survey-62-of-nigerians-see-country-moving-forward-under-tinubu-despite-economic-hardship

justmondris:
What has Democracy done for Africa. During the worst military head of state in the history of Nigeria, 1$ = 22Naira. What's the current exchange rate in the so called democracy regime?

We don't care about the regime or type of governance. We just want good leaders to move our country and continent forward. Is this too much to ask for?

Sajio:
This message is for nairaland,I don't know who is using my account. I kept see likes on comments and messages when I ever I long in. Is that my account has been hacked or what? How do I go about this..

Procashtips:
Majority of the people of Niger are with the military, it's going to be extremely difficult to overcome such a resolve except you actually want to kill the civilians.


My question then goes thus: If majority want the military, what then is the problem of outsiders?

GodHatesBigots:
“Bazoum and his family, according to the latest information, have been deprived of food, electricity and medical care for several days,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said Bazoum’s reported detention conditions “could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of international human rights law”.

The AU said “such treatment of a democratically elected president” was “unacceptable”.

oyeb15:
What is d way out for Nigerians now. Our businesses are down. Myself I use fuel for my business and since it now expensive and [b]people are not paying well [/b]coupled with very low customers. Am running at huge loss.I can't even run again cos have spent all my savings. Am really confused!
How are we going to survive Please?

gitargy:
What points do the pro-war faction make to support their position?
I am American so I'm not really familiar with Nigerian politics. The American media is drumming up suport against the junta in Niger by characterizing them as pro-Russia. What are they saying in Nigeria?

obrian888:
Tifnubu does not have the legitimate right to interfere in any government, whether through coup or democracy because he is an illegitimate president, a mandate thief, he should vacate that office that mumu Yakubu gave to him. in short the ECOWAS exco is illegitimate

I would have love this your comment 100% but you failed to mention the government excess useless, foolish, insane spending, you mentioned education that we refused to pay high fees, why should we pay high when the government will collect the fees and still will not pay the teachers or honor agreement it had with them. why on earth will senator and HOR members collect unimaginable amount of salary where over 180 million Nigerians cannot get 3 meal a day and you want the masses to make sacrifice for a better country and the leaders are looting left and right? bros i support you in the area of the military taking us like 50 years back but let us look at the stealing of these useless criminals we call leaders holistically without sentiments of religion and tribalism, the solution to Nigerias problems is for a sincere military government to take over, execute all our leaders from LGA to the federal level from 1999 till date and then enthrone democracy and watch it from the sideline with a strict warning that if they do anyhow, they will anyhow like their predecessor. if you ask me between the military in Nigeria and the these present civilian thieves, bros i prefer the military than these civil thieves, court order they will not obey, the wife of the DSS dg is above the law, they kill maim and steal rig elections, tell me how are they better than their military counterparts? is the refinery and this country better since the military left it NO" please let the military take over, it is not about Obi. yes i voted for PO but the reason i voted for him is not because i believe he will fix the country overnight because no government can fix this country in 8years but we can see a great change, i voted Obi to move from the old order of PDAPC, these guys are pure DEMON in human form, they must die for Nigeria make progress, how can a country will so much crude deposit be importing petroleum products, they lie that there is subsidy, whether there is subsidy or not why are they not working on fixing the refineries. we have a very BIG problem taking care of our infrastructure, NNPC is just watching our refineries wasting away, now they have giving it a new name NNPCL or so, what will the change of name do? bunch of scammers, from the North to the South, to the East and down to the West, everywhere is thief, thief and thieves

Fkmodhi:
Imagine this fake news those useless mods push to front page without verification smh…

LagosFirstSon:
https://punchng.com/nigerians-didnt-bargain-for-current-hardship-gani-adams-tells-tinubu/?utm_source=auto-read-also&utm_medium=web&amp

nlfpmod:
https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2023/07/22/boiling-your-meat-well-does-not-kill-anthrax-expert-warns-nigerians/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

LithiumSupplier:
1. I work in a project development company.

2. I am at the assistant manager level.

3. I do most of the work; from designing and maintaining company's websites, to clerical works such document preparation, oversee environmental consulting jobs, to troubleshooting company's systems and many more.

4. The problem is that the company does not appreciate all my efforts. They push every blame on me.

The owner and his son are just so inconsiderate. For example, I was working on a project that required attachment of some sensitive documents.

Once it was time, I requested for the documents from the owner, instead he provided me with different documents entirely. Many times, he will shout at me for asking questions. So I assumed that he didn't want the documents out in the public.

While reviewing my work, the owner was okay with the attached documents until he decided to make presentation with the work to prospects.

As soon as the prospects registered dissatisfaction with the out of place documents (So to say), he called and started blasting me on the phone, calling me stup!d and stuff. He would always let me take the fall for his own mistakes all the time.

His son on the other hand is just too empty and overbearing. His father would always ask him to supervise any project I'm working on.
He would okay many things and I can't say otherwise.

When we present the project to his father and the father decides to query any part of the things which he okayed earlier, he will push all the blames on me and the father will call to nag and lambast me for things I know nothing about.

This has been going on for like 3 years now.

My regret was that I turned down an offer from a small oil company in Lagos last year and early this year too.

My current pay is 300,000 NGN without accommodation, while the Lagos' was 350,000 NGN with accommodation.

I'm currently in Abuja. I was scared of the traffic in Lagos.

I really don't know what to do anymore...

This issue is affecting my mental health.

This guy talks down on me anyhow without respect.

This is a guy that can't properly put together a common letter.

As plan B, I have set up two blogs and Google just approved Adsense application on one, while I'm working on the other one.
I have also set up Facebook pages and have grown to over 232,000 active followers.

I am also an environmental consultant with over 15 years experience, I also major in GIS and I design websites too.

I am married with 2 kids. What should I do?

The recent 40 per cent hike in the exchange rate for cargo clearance at the seaports and the increase in tariff on imported cars by a terminal operator, Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited, has led to about 70 per cent drop in the sale of second-hand imported cars.

The PUNCH reported last week that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Customs Service had taken the ongoing foreign exchange reforms to the maritime sector with a 40 per cent increase in the exchange rate used for calculating the import duty.

The NCS had a few weeks ago raised the exchange rate used for the calculation of import duty from N422.30/dollar to N589/dollar.

The development, which has led to a corresponding 40 per cent increase in import duties on imported cargoes, including vehicles, has caused anxiety among operators in the maritime sector with clearing agents, freight forwarders and importers calling for

As that was gradually sinking in, the CBN on Thursday raised the exchange rate for cargo clearance by 31 per cent. The interest rate was moved from N589/$ to N770/$.

The NCS announced this development in a circular dated July 4, 2023, titled, ‘Implementation of the floating foreign exchange rate regime’ and was signed by the Assistant Controller General, IT & Modernisation, K. I. Adeola.

The circular read in part, “The CBN has instituted the floating exchange rate regime, which has given rise to incessant changes in the exchange rate for trade. The policy is to be implemented by all ministries, departments and agencies of the government, including the NCS.”

The service through the circular directed its area controllers to ensure that the information was communicated to relevant stakeholders.

Confirming the development, the Youth Leader of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Tin Can Island chapter, Remilekun Sikiru, said the directive was communicated to members of the group in the early hours of Thursday.

Sikiru, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Sikremstar Logistics Limited, explained that a 2004 Toyota Camry that was cleared for N1m before the introduction of the Vehicle Identification Number for clearing of imported vehicles was now being cleared for N1.9m.

Giving details of the new rate for clearing vehicles from 2001 to 2014, Sikiru said, “The actual duty on Toyota Camry is N705,000, while the total duty and clearance cost is N1.7m; for Corolla, the duty is N558,000 and total clearance cost is N1.3m; Sienna duty is N930,000 and total clearance cost is N2.2m; duty on Highlander is N1.1m, bringing the total clearance cost to N2.6m; duty on Venza is N1.2m and total cost is N3m.

“For Lexus RX350, the duty is now N1.5m, bringing the total clearance cost to N3m; duty on Lexus ES350 is N1.3m and the total cost is N3m; for Toyota RAV4, the duty is N831,000 and total cost of clearing it is N1.2m; Honda Pilot’s duty is N966,000 and the total clearance cost is N2.2m; Honda Accord’s duty amounts to N769,000 and total clearance cost is N1.8m; for Toyota Tacoma, the duty is N417,000 and total clearance cost is N818,000. These vehicles are from 2001 to 2014.”

Total duty or total clearance cost means the duty payable on a car plus the surcharge, ECOWAS duty and the seven per cent port development levy.

The development came barely one month after the Federal Government removed the fuel subsidy and floated the naira. It also came at a time electricity distribution firms were considering increasing power tariffs

The National Public Relations Officer, NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, who confirmed the new exchange rate on the agency’s portal, said it was only implementing the CBN policy.

“Whatever you see in our system is what has been communicated to us. It is determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria. So whatever we are using is what is obtainable as communicated to us. It is a monetary policy; we only implement what is given to us. It is a monetary policy and anything monetary is not determined by us, it is determined by the CBN. We only use what is communicated to us,” Maiwada stated.

Sikiru had earlier said the new rate had taken effect on the Customs portal and that the customs duty payable on vehicles had increased astronomically.

According to him, this development may lead to cargoes, including vehicles, being trapped at the terminals.

“The customs duty has been increased and it will lead to a heavy increment in duty payment on general goods and cargoes. This will bring hardship on importers,” Sikiru added.

Also speaking, a freight forwarder and Chief Executive Officer, 2B Frank Nigeria Limited, Nwegbe Frankypaul, said, “Freight forwarders woke up on Saturday to realise that the dollar rate had been increased from about N423 per dollar to about N590 per dollar.”

Nwegbe pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to ensure the depreciation of the value of older vehicles.

The Founder of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Lucky Amiwero, said, “The moment you allow the naira to float freely in terms of exchange that is what you get. And it is going to affect the prices of goods. It is going to take a lot of licensed customs agents out of work because most of them are going to lose their customers.”

The Vice-President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Nnadi Ugochukwu, said, “It will affect businesses; there is a container I have for someone, before now, we used to clear that container for N4.3m. With the new exchange rate, the clearing cost is now N6.5m.”

A licensed Customs agent, Mr Festus Ukwu, said, “Even if the Federal Government wants to do exchange rate harmonisation, they should know how to go about it. This increase is a very big one.”

However, while the agents were still lamenting the increased exchange rate, the PTML slammed a 36 per cent tariff on imported used cars.

This development coming from a terminal operator that specialises mostly in the importation of cars worsened the woes of vehicle importers and sellers.

In a public notice sighted by our correspondent, the terminal operator said the current economic conditions of surging inflation, coupled with the devaluation of the currency and removal of subsidy on petrol had caused its operational cost to increase

The terminal operator in the notice said its action had received the endorsement of relevant authorities.

The notice read in part, “The PTML would like to bring to the attention of its esteemed customers that the current economic conditions of surging inflation, coupled with the devaluation of currency and removal of fuel subsidy have caused the operational costs to increase multi-fold. Hence, having received the endorsement of the relevant authorities, it has become imperative to restructure our terminal tariffs from the 1st of July 2023.

“The PTML is confident that its esteemed customers will understand the rationale behind this review that will assist us in ensuring our superior level of service, while keeping the competitiveness of its rates.”

Reacting to all these developments, the President of the Berger Motor Dealers Association of Nigeria, Mr Metche Nnadiekwe, said that currently, members of his group were recording about a 70 per cent drop in patronage.

He said, “I don’t know if they think at all before coming up with policies like the increase in tariff or is it that when they wake up in the morning they just come up with policies. There is no need for an increase in the exchange rate for cargo clearance. We are still talking about that and the terminal is coming up with another increase, which has finally killed the business.

“There is a drastic drop in the volume of patronage we get here; there is up to 70 per cent drop in the patronage. The thing is there is no money to buy; people are not coming again to buy from us; we just sit down here and are doing nothing. The last time we checked many of our members are out of business; these are people who have bills to pay and they come out every day looking at their vehicles and no customer is coming to buy as a result of the additional money and all that.”

Also speaking, the Secretary General of the Lagos State Motor Dealers Association, Mr Tai Olaniran, said the dealers now focus more on reselling Nigerian used cars.

Olaniran stated, “It is difficult here and we don’t know the way forward; what they are trying to do is to discourage older vehicles and that is why we are now dealing with reselling Nigerian used vehicles. Because when you are clearing the same 2005 or 2006 model, you will find out that it is the same amount as the 2016 model. So, with the increment, you will see that they want to discourage older vehicles. It is going to affect us quite alright and it will affect the people as well.

“And many of us will go out of business or we will continue dealing in Nigerian used vehicles. So, we prefer Nigerian used vehicles instead of going for Tokunbo cars. With this increase in costs now, we will continue to do it so that we won’t go out of business; the percentage increase is much. At least since the removal of fuel subsidy and all that, most people don’t use cars again, so the volume of vehicle sales has dropped radically and I think the drop is up to 50 per cent, and it may be higher, I am not sure.”

A car dealer in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, Mr Johnpaul Ejiogu, said, “People now prefer to buy Nigerian-used cars to Tokunbo cars. You will find out that even the Nigerian-used cars are not affordable; they are also expensive but just a bit cheaper than the Tokunbo cars. We mostly deal in those ones and it is even very difficult to get buyers now. I will say that there is about 70 per cent drop in car sales now.”

An e-hailing cab driver, Joshua Abbey, said he chose to buy a Nigerian-used car for his e-hailing business because that was what he could afford.

“I wanted to go into the e-hailing transport business and I planned to get a Tokunbo car for that purpose, but when I priced the car, the dealers were quoting almost N4m for a 2004 model of Toyota Camry so I decided to buy a Nigerian-used version; even though it was expensive, it cost less than the Tokunbo one. I know that getting a Tokunbo would have been better for my business, but I have to manage this one like that,” he told Sunday PUNCH.

According to Chibiike Ignatius, the more he tries to save up to buy a small car of his choice, the more the price goes up.

“It’s like I will save my money, because the more I save to buy the vehicle, the more the price goes up,” he stated.

A document obtained from the Customs showed that a total of 117,830 vehicles used vehicles were imported into the country in the first quarter of 2021, while 97,132 vehicles were imported in the same period of 2022. The steady decline was witnessed in the first quarter of this year as a total of 51,782 Tokunbo vehicles were imported.

On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu, signed four Executive Orders deferring and suspending the commencement of certain taxes paid by individuals and companies in the country with the aim of reducing the tax burden.

According to his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, the President signed the Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, 2023, which deferred the commencement date of the changes contained in the Act from May 23, 2023 to September 1, 2023.

He also signed the Customs, Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order, 2023 shifting the commencement date of the tax changes from March 27, 2023 to August 1, 2023 in line with the National Tax Policy.

The President also gave an order suspending the five per cent Excise Tax on telecommunication services, as well as excise duties’ escalation on locally manufactured products. He also ordered the suspension of the Import Tax Adjustment Levy on certain vehicles.

But reacting to the Executive Order concerning importation of vehicles, Amiwero said it would likely lead to an increase in the importation of vehicles by about 15 per cent.

“You know the exchange rate has been affected. So, the boost on car importation won’t be much; we are looking at between 10 per cent and 15 per cent. Because you know that the exchange rate will actually reduce some of the gains. So, we are looking at a 10 per cent to 15 per cent increase in vehicles coming into the country,” he explained.

nairalanda1:
As for Nigeria, we were paying for explicit subside....ie subsides paid to cover the losses resulting from selling fuel way below its productive cost...from oil income. Not from taxes or from revenue from manufacturing and exporting manufactured goods...or from other sources of income...just oil. And we don't even earn enough oil money to begin with for a nation our size.

nairalanda1:
Smuggling is a phenonenom that happens in all countries with explicit subsides on petrol like Nigeria.

Libya sells fuel at N14, and they can afford it, with a populaiton of 7 million and production of 1.7 m barrels per day. But that means that smuggling happens massively...to the point they are using air strikes to stop smuggler.

Yeah corrupt politicans and NNPC are part of the problem because subsidy=free government money-=corruption