- As Ali says Customs seized 3,665 vehicles from 2015, with N13bn DPV
Devastated by the tolls the nation is incurring through smuggling, the Federal Government has decided to collaborate with neighbouring countries, in a bid to curb smuggling.
Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving a delegation of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), led by its President, Dr Frank Jacobs, on advocacy visit towards promoting Made-in-Nigeria products.
The Vice President maintained that a major challenge of the problem is that smuggling is an issue of implementation of agreements.
“The whole issue of policing the boarders to curb smuggling, we are looking at how we can work with neighbours to police the borders which at present are porous.
“In 2013 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the Africa Union,’’ he said, noting that the manufacturing and agriculture sectors might not survive in the country with the prevailing smuggling.
He explained that the patronage of local textiles by government was implementable, adding that there was a very large market now in the country for local shoe manufacturers while some government agencies had placed orders for boots.
Osinbajo stated that the government’s tomato policy was to ensure self-sufficiency by 2018, adding that “we are trying to balance policies to ensure that we don’t run ahead of our local capacity.’’
He acknowledged that made-in-Nigeria goods were expensive, but said that government would ensure that the procurement people considered MAN’s proposal for sector-specific Margins of Preference (MOP) to give Nigerian products competitive edge in the markets.
The Vice President thanked MAN for the advocacy visit, which he said, demonstrated the kind of partnership government expected from the private sector in implementing government policies.
“I thank you for your very active collaboration with us,’’ he said adding that MAN raised very important issues that were practical, important and possible to implement.
“There is no policy that is difficult to implement,’’ he said
Earlier, Jacobs said that MAN started the campaign for improved patronage of Made-in Nigeria products in 2016 in partnership with the Department for International Development of United Kingdom and the MAN team.
“Conceptually, the advocacy campaign was aimed at improving the patronage of locally manufactured products by Nigerians, the government and its Ministries, Departments and Agencies through an effective and inward looking procurement process.
“Undoubtedly the government remains the largest single spender in the economy and could drive industrial development and economic growth by increasing its patronage of locally-made products,’’ Jacobs said.
Acording to him public procurement is not just mere purchase, but strategic fiscal tool used by countries including advanced countries, to develop their manufacturing sector.
“It is an established fact that when we buy foreign goods we pay the returns to factors used in producing them in the originating countries.
“That is to say that we pay the wages, rent, interest and profit to foreign countries with our local resources,’’ he said.
The MAN president said that the manufacturing sector had huge inventory of unsold finished products.
He attributed it to poor patronage by the government, backlashes from smuggling, counterfeiting and general apathy of consumers with penchant for foreign goods.
He highlighted the benefits that could accrue from government patronage of uniforms needed in ministries of Interior, Defence, Education, Health, NYSC and the police force.
On the MOP initiatives he said they would boost government revenue through taxes and employment creation.
He said that MOP would in 2018 raise monetary output by 159 per cent from N2.5 trillion to about N6.6 trillion, expand SME size in five sectors by 122 per cent and create six million new jobs.
“Again at 6 per cent tax ratio, the government will generate approximately N400 billion in new tax revenue from only five sectors in 2018,’’ he said.
An industrialist and Chief Executive of Juhel Group, Mr Ifeanyi Okoye, told newsmen that the advocacy would ensure that reliance on made in Nigeria drugs would remove traces of fake and adulterated drugs in the country.
Okoye said MAN was partnering the regulatory agencies to curb the menace.
In the meantime, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) between 2015 and now, has impounded at least, 3,665 vehicles with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of over N13 billion.
The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), retired Col.Hameed Ali disclosed this Thursday, in Abuja, while delivering a lecture titled “Problem of Smuggling and its attendant Consequence on Nigeria’s Economy and the Way Out” at the IBB Golf and Country Club.
Providing a breakdown of the seizures, Ali observed that the Service in 2015, iimpounded 1,917 vehicles with DPV of N3.856 billion; while 1,483 vehicls were seized in 2016 with DPV of valued N2.683 billion.
When between January and August this year, 265 vehicles were seized with DPV of N6.625 billion.
The CGC pointed out that the high value recorded in 2017 was because most of the vehicles were of high value which included some 15 bullet proof vehicles.
He also explained that of the 18 vehicles seized in September in Abuja over non duty payment, 13 were also bullet proof vehicles, out of which 10 had no Customs papers.
He said that Nigeria imported about 70 per cent of its needs and that 45 per cent of all the imports were smuggled into the country.
“Lack of patriotism among the traders and complicity of Customs officers has added to the problem.
“Over 85 per cent traders are not trustworthy as they falsify documents except for about five per cent of them who can be trusted and often have their goods cleared within 48 hours,” Ali said.
He said that the four arms containers intercepted this year were concealed with many cases of under declaration and diversion of imported goods.
On the challenges of Customs in fighting smuggling, he said the Service lost three officers this year.
Ali said that Customs under him was being sanitised and now very few corrupt officers are still left in the Service.
“Ninety per cent of our officers are now imbibing the culture of doing the right thing”, Ali stated further, urging Nigerians to report corrupt officers to enable the service weed out the 10 per cent of the corrupt officers.
Ali stressed the need for importers to be patriotic and stop inducing officers to fast track clearance of their goods, emphasizing that smuggling has remained a greed induced societal problem, consistently killing the local industries, and hindering the growth of the economy.
