Two Freight Forwarding associations in the maritime sector, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has called for the temporal suspension of the new automotive policy of the federal government.
The associations also want the federal government to review the infrastructural deficits that would mar the policy at inception adding that there must be a holistic approach to the policy which should include the fixing of electricity and overcoming the infrastructural challenges first.
In a joint statement issued by the two associations recently, they disclosed that they had already suggested to the government through the Nigeria Customs service that there should be a 5-year rolling plan for the implementation of the new auto policy.
The statement which was jointly signed by Dr. Emmanuel Ogu Oparah and Hon. Increase Uche, Secretaries of the respective associations asserted that as Customs agents and freight forwarders in the maritime industry, the associations believed that a sound policy should be borne out of research and empirical evidence and not out of mere wishful thinking.
It added that the government should understand that there was a difference between what the government wants and what the people need saying that a mark of good governance was the ability to match both “at the right time”.
The statement read in part,” we, members of the above mentioned associations have carefully and dispassionately assessed the hurried implementation of Nigeria Automotive Industry Plan , also known as the Auto policy. We have consulted with thousands of collective and individual stakeholders in the maritime industry as well as the good people of our country who we are professionally endowed to serve, on the same policy”.
“The attendant feedback, mostly hinging on the multidimensional losses to be incurred by our people and government, candidly beg for a realistic suspension and candid review of the timing of the implementation of the policy”.
“This joint statement comes to the public domain simply because our private discussions and advice have been rebuffed by a few people in power who do not understand that transience of power and the essence of the power of reverse”.
Tracing the background of the policy, the statement recalled that the auto policy was a development plan intended to rejuvenate the country’s auto industry, kick-start an industrialization process, produce the country’s home-made cars and redirect imports, all in one year.
It went ahead to note that as a result of the development plan, a plan which was announced in 2013 was now being implemented in 2014 with 70 percent increase in the cost of automobile imports.
“Whilst we do not claim the know-how of automobile business and would not want to dabble into GDP quotations, commonsense tells all Nigerians in and out of our maritime industry that regular power supply, iron and steel deliverable, price affordability and many other factors are necessary for this great dream to come to stay”.
“With perennially poor power supply, a comatose iron and steel industry, underdeveloped transportation network and the consequential high cost of production and job losses, we in the maritime sector smell insincerity and agree with other patriotic Nigerians that the speed with which the implementation is going, it will certainly crash. There is danger ahead”, the statement said.
The associations however stated that following a careful study of the new auto policy, especially the unprecedented increase in vehicle tariffs from 20 percent to 70 percent and in view of the consequential and gradual dislocation in the maritime industry, it was important for them to state that the losses that would be incurred would include; high price of vehicles, income loss to neighbouring countries, smuggling, exemption racketeering among others.
