Stakeholders at the 2022 edition of the National Roundtable Discussion of the Nigerian Economic Growth Movement held in Lagos unanimously agreed that Nigeria has been overwhelmed with insecurity, a high level of corruption, collapsing economy, and anxiety over the 2023 general elections.         

Giving his keynote address, the Acting President of the Association of Nigerian Licenced Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Farinto said the nation is in the era of trade terrorism. Farinto lamented that rather than concentrating on the improvements of the nation’s economy, the government is only interested in revenue generation. 

He condemned the way government is stretching the importers and their clearing agents at the nation’s ports to the point where some of them can no longer continue in their business.

Farinto also stated that the youth who are expected to contribute to the growth of the economy are now concentrating on substance abuse thereby becoming a liability instead of an asset to the country.                      

He decried the activities of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) set up to regulate substandard products in Nigeria which has been turned into a revenue-generating agency.    

The ANCLA boss accused some Customs officers, who are due for retirement, of lobbying to extend their retirement from the Service.
According to him, this has denied the young and vibrant officers to contribute their quotas to the economy.  

 He said there is an urgent need to unbundle the Ministry of Transportation in order to have efficiency in the transport sector. 

 He expressed sadness at the rate at which the Nigerian economy is nose-diving.                  

 Farinto also accused the Tin Can Command of the NDLEA of extorting agents at the port.

Mr. Francis Omotoso, the Registrar of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Academy pointed out that the strength of a nation is in its foreign reserve.        

Omotoso said that 75 percent of Nigerian importers are no longer importing because of bastardisation of the Naira.              

He described subsidy as a scam because subsidy is meant for export only.

Omotoso remarked that Nigeria’s economy is nose-diving on a daily basis as the government is not monitoring the movement of the nation’s oil as Saudi Arabia has been doing.                  

NDLEA representative, ACN Aminub Jiga Jiga admonished the citizens to join hands with the agency to eradicate the menace of drug addiction and importation so that we can have a sane society.                      

The National Coordinator, Save Nigeria Importers, and Exporters Coalition, Dr (Sir) Chukwu Osita,  lamented marginalisation of some sections of the country.

Osita called for equal rights for all and commended the NDLEA on its war against drug abuse in Nigeria.            

Dr. Segun Musa, a chieftain of NAGAFF advised the NDLEA to co-opt community leaders in its war against drug abuse in the country.