…says it is counterproductive
The former Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Farintho has faulted the early implementation of the new auto policy by the Nigeria Customs Service last month.
Farintho who spoke in an exclusive chat with Primetime Reporters in his office in Lagos recently said the policy was not going to help the economy of this country as well as its citizens.
He observed that since the country was yet to produce its own vehicles, it was counterproductive to begin implementation of the new auto policy targeted at discouraging importation of used vehicles into the country.
He blamed the policy makers of this country for always coming out with policies that sought to bring hardship on ordinary Nigerians.
According to him,” I want to believe that the policy makers in this country, if they call themselves professionals, they are not professionals, they are educated illiterates”.
“What you call governance, the ability to carry the down-trodden. Are we producing vehicles? No! If you want to manufacture vehicles, let us see how feasible it is, let us see how accessible it is, let us see how reachable it is. If we manufacture vehicle, how possible will it be for an average Nigerian who graduated last year to purchase the new vehicle?”
“It is not going to help the economy of this country. In the next one month, they are going to introduce another one which is going to be more harsh on Nigerians, that is the levy”.
The ANLCA Chieftain noted that with the policy in place, people would begin to circumvent the law in a bid to survive adding that he would not blame anybody who chose the path of smuggling since other countries were making it possible for their citizens to afford vehicles at a cheaper rates while Nigeria was doing otherwise.
He therefore called on President Goodluck Jonathan to revisit the issue in the interest of the masses of this country and the economy.
Mr. President should have a rethink on this issue for the interest of the masses of this country. Now that Nigeria is going through trying times, where we have the challenges here and there, Boko Haram in the North, kidnapping in the east, militancy in the soutt-south, we cannot afford to have crisis in any other part of the country just like every other part of the country”.
“The moment we have problem in the south-west, that is the end of this government. Remember the old wild west. I am of the opinion that the government should have a rethink on this”, he said.
Speaking on bringing the duty and the levy of both the new and the fairly used vehicles at par to encourage local production, he said, that that was a preventionist policy and can only be possible when the country is producing vehicles massively.
On why the agents instead of the importers and car dealers were protesting as being faulted in some quarters, Farintho observed,” if my clients’ interests are being trampled upon that directly or indirectly affect my interest, I have the right to protest. So, whoever that is thinking that way is making a mistake. The car dealers can take to the streets, the agents can take to the streets because whatever affects the importer is definitely going to affect us”.
