To enhance the maritime sector, licensed customs agents have urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to solve the issue of exchange rates and taxation. The agents urged the government to address other economic challenges hurting the industry.
Mr. Lucky Amiwero, the creator of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, stated that the sector’s economic troubles had resulted in a major decline in imports into the country.
“The government should investigate economic issues; it is not a political matter. Apart from the few elites who gain from it, it has affected practically everyone in the country. It is something that the government should pay attention to because it has touched a large number of individuals. Many parents are unable to send their children to school. Importers are not bringing in goods as usual,” Amiwero observed.
He bemoaned the closure of many medium and small-scale firms as the country’s economic woes worsened.
In addition, Nnadi Ugochukwu, Vice President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, encouraged the government to address the issue of excessive taxes in the sector. According to Ugochukwu, the country has experimented with indigenous rice production for the last 21 years, but it has failed.
Nigeria has to reassess its rice production strategy. “The ban on rice importation should be lifted because there is too much hunger in the country,” he proposed.
Meanwhile, Olusegun Musa, a former Chairman of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Chapter of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, has urged the government to evaluate its export, import, and other fiscal policies. He reiterated that stakeholders want to see a consistent strategy that gives industry stakeholders direction on import and export regimes.
