The federal government’s move to ban the importation of vehicles via land borders has received a legislative blow as federal lawmakers on Thursday ordered that the proposed ban be suspended immediately.
The lawmakers directed that the committees on Governmental Affairs and Customs and Excise ensure strict implementation of the suspension and report back to the House within six weeks for further legislative action.
It was gathered that the lawmakers’ position was reached on the consideration that the ban will adversely affect many Nigerians, after a motion titled: ‘Need to suspend The Ban On Importation of Vehicles Through Land Borders’ sponsored by Hon Abdulahi Salame, APC, Sokoto.
In his submission, Salame argued that “the percentage of Nigerians who can afford cars has declined drastically following the decline in the value of the naira, inflation, unemployment and high cost of living that has bedevilled Nigeria where over 80percent of Nigerians live below $200 a day.
He said that “the Federal Government has powers under Section 18 of the Customs and Excise Management Act to restrict the movement of goods into and out of Nigeria by land or inland waters and to appoint customs stations, however, similar exercise of such powers on rice importation through the land borders in April 2016, has occasioned untold hardships on Nigerians as a bag of rice now sells for between N20,000-N23,000 as against N8,000 few months.
“As it is now the government has not put in place alternative measures to ensure that Nigerians will have access to cars since it is cheaper to buy cars from neighbouring countries and still generate revenue by ensuring that our borders are secured to prevent smuggling, and also that there will not be job losses.
Salame also expressed worry that “the ban will cause more harm than good as it will certainly lead to increase in smuggling, deprive poor Nigerians access to acquiring vehicles, skyrocket the prices of cars cleared at the Wharf, increase inflation and further mount pressure on the already weak naira and lead to idleness, insecurity and criminality at the border points.
Two members, however, spoke against the motion arguing that under Section 18, the minister has powers to make such restrictions.
Hon Linus Okorie, PDP, Ebonyi simply told the House that it was not under the purview of the House as the minister exercised his powers rightly.
Other lawmakers such as Ibrahim Sadiq and Baba Kaita countered it before the presiding officer, Speaker Yakubu Dogara put it to a voice vote and the majority had it.
