The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) stated on Friday that customs brokers should be given the chance to influence maritime policy.
Dr. Kayode Farinto, the Association’s acting national president, told newsmen that the precaution would ensure that there would be no policy reversal.
When discussing hopes for 2023, Farinto said that, regrettably, the federal government had neglected the freight forwarding sector, which had hampered the sector’s expansion.
He contends that if the government effectively utilises the industry, they can increase revenue and boost the national economy.
“There is no knowledge that is imparted to the younger freight forwarders, no capacity building, every time we are neglected.
“Even when they are making policy, we are the ones that will be part of the implementation, yet we are not carried along.
“And each time government has policy somersault, it’s as a result of this.
“If I have my way, I will say that a freight forwarder be appointed a Senior Special Assistant to the presidency on maritime affairs. You will see how our industry will develop if this is done,” he said.
Farinto said that they faced numerous difficulties, one of which is the unstable naira and the lack of a reliable exchange rate by the federal government.
He claimed that the government prefers to give official rates to pilgrims rather than to people who want to import goods to boost the economy, adding that this has an impact on the expansion of the sector.
“Foreign countries have taken over our cargo as a result of the fact that government has always been phasing off one item or the other on either prohibition list or saying that they are banning it.
“Everywhere in the world that you talk about trade, you don’t ban commodity again.
“Those commodities are allowed to thrive with local manufacturers, there will be competition and that is when the local manufacturers can now compete favorably well,” he said.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari on the rice issue since, in contrast to earlier, when Nigeria was totally dependent on imported rice, local production now provided for around 50% of the country’s needs.
The head of the ANLCA claimed that while the government should take freight forwarders into account and provide incentives for them when creating the budget, they may still bring value to the nation.
“If I am a managing director of a company and I have generated N1 billion to the coffers of federal government, just make a blanket pronouncement, whoever that has generated the highest money will get 0.1 per cent of whatever generated.
“You will see that government will generate more revenue by 2023. This is because I will not allow my importer to circumvent the procedure and many other things,” he said.
