FG advised to reverse National Automotive Policy

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The Spokesman of Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Mr Bolaji Akinola on Thursday advised the Federal Government to reverse the National Automotive Policy.
Akinola gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to him, the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry Trade and Investment, should revisit the nation’s automotive policy and ensure a quick reversal.
He explained that the automotive policy had increased import duty on vehicles from 20 to 70 per cent and was driving cargoes (vehicles) away from Nigerian ports.
Also, president of the Shippers Association Lagos State, Mr Jonathan Nicol, had said the automotive policy specifying 35 per cent duty, 35 per cent levy and 5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) should be reversed.
Akinola said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy restricting access to the official foreign exchange market by importers of 41 selected items had also compounded port operations.
“Because of the foreign exchange restriction on importers of the 41 items, our ports have suffered significantly.
“Very importantly, there would be the need for the Federal Ministry of Transport to look into the gridlock around both Lagos and Onne ports,” he said.
He told NAN that the gridlock was caused by a combination of bad port access roads, lack of trailer parks and the proliferation of tank farms.
Akinola explained that all of these should be looked into to make Nigerian ports user-friendly and to attract more cargoes that were being lost to ports in neighbouring countries.
He also said the railways should be linked to all ports in the country to deliver more cargoes to their final destinations.
Akinola said more workers at the terminals might be laid off as imports and exports at the ports had declined by more than 30 per cent.
He said under the platform of STOAN, there were some workers who had been rendered redundant already, adding that more workers would suffer same fate.
“Now that we have found ourselves in this kind of situation, the option left is to cut costs to stay afloat and remain in business, ‘’ he told NAN.
The STOAN spokesman, however, said it would be difficult for now to be specific on the number of workers that would be affected.

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