FG will Gain $700 Million From Banning Car Importation Through Land Borders

The Nigeria Automotive Manufacturers Association (NAMA) said The Federal Government will gain as much as $700million (N213.5billion) from the ban on importation of cars through land borders.

The Executive Director of the Association, Remi Olaofe, said that vehicle importation through land borders had been a major source of revenue leakage.

“Import duties payable have all the while been going to the purses of our neighbours. Meanwhile, we as a nation are struggling to make ends meet,” Olaofe said.

“With the drive towards the full implementation of the National Auto Policy, the place of accurate data cannot be over-emphasized. Investors need to be well aware of the size of the market in making investment decisions”.

“The level of damage to our economy, both from fiscal and monetary policies’ perspective, is overwhelming when we come to the realization that the data we plan with are greatly distorted by the unreported imports going through our land borders”.

“This explains why investors, foreign and local, are constantly at a loss when they compare observed market potential with what is officially reported”.

“The federal government, through the closure of our land borders to vehicle importation, has not placed any ban on the importation of vehicles. Its intervention is to avert the painful activities of smugglers of vehicles through our land borders and loss of revenue to our neighbouring countries and legitimate stakeholders in the auto industry”.

“We also consider it paramount to enlighten everyone that inbuilt in the new Auto Policy are Distributors’ Schemes, Auto Finance Schemes and an organised Second Hand Market for the locally-used vehicles. We envisage a creation of over 4,000 direct jobs and much higher figure for indirect jobs coming with the policy”.

“One is at a loss as to why Nigerians would prefer to bring in their vehicles through the neighbouring countries, knowing well that these vehicles are mostly from America and Europe by sea,” he added.

Olaofe also argued that all funds gotten through importation of vehicles by land is over $2 billion and this is unaccounted for.

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