A frontline maritime practitioner, Mr. Ugochukwu Nnadi has advocated for the removal of the levy placed on imported rice by the Federal Government through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Nnadi who made this call in a chat with newsmen in Lagos also want th federal government to reverse the auto policy saying that it was adding to the cost of doing business in the country.
He argued that if the levy on imported rice was removed, the price of the commodity in the market would come down to N9, 000 thereby reducing hunger in the land.
According to him, “Now, this levy that is now being paid on rice since it the past 16 years, had it been that it is being used to produce rice, by now Nigeria must have started exporting rice. We won’t be thinking of importing rice. And I have said that the 100% we pay on rice, if it is removed, the price of rice will come down to about N9, 000 in the market.
“Like the auto policy where they said if you bring in your vehicle, you will pay 35% duty and 35% levy, i mean in which way has it affected us? Even the poor masses, how is it affecting them? And that adds to the cost of doing business and then the citizens are suffering. It is only the customs officers are enjoying. It is not fair”.
He insisted that it was the government policy that was responsible for the high cost of rice in the market adding that if government policy was reviewed today, within the next one week, rice would come down to N9, 000.
On the directive of the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali that henceforth, all goods coming into the country would undergo 100% physical examination, he said,” You will see that there will be congestion, though the throughput is low but still there will be congestion in that people will not still take their consignments on time, the cost of business will now rise because you have to pay demurrage on the consignments. By the time you bring it out, you discover that you have spent so much and you must add money to it and then the masses will suffer, the government in power is now being cursed”.
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