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Nigeria: Vehicle importation down by 45% over forex crisis— Customs Chief

Published

3 months ago

July 4, 2024

Due to issues with foreign exchange in the country, vehicle imports decreased by 45% in the first quarter of 2024, according to Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Adeniyi noted in a recent interview with Arise Television that the moment was extremely critical for Nigerians and businesses in general as a result of the fluctuation in exchange rates,

“It affected car dealers. We had as much as a 45 per cent decrease in the volume of cars that were brought into Nigeria in that period.

“And they were not the kind of cars that fetched optimum revenue for the customs. Not only cars, but even regular imports were also affected because people could no longer import raw materials as they wanted and the volatility did not allow them to plan for tomorrow,” the CGC stated.

He expressed optimism that things had begun to improve in the second quarter of the year.

“But we see some relative degree of stability in the second quarter because there are lots of discussions going on. Some at the level of the National Assembly, most of them spearheaded by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, bring on the stakeholders that are involved together, to ensure that we achieve stability.”

Adeniyi provided an update on the private jet owners’ verification exercise, stating that since the announcement of the verification, a sizable number of private jet owners have begun to leave Nigeria.

The departing jets, he said, do not want to be confirmed.

He said that hardly many owners have participated in the exercise since it began a few weeks ago.

“Very few of them have shown up for verification and we gathered from intelligence that a good number of them have been leaving Nigeria since the announcement was given because they would not want to be verified,” he asserted.

Adeniyi stated that if an aircraft is going to be operated in Nigeria, the owners must come to Nigeria Customs and pay the customs duty when the aircraft is brought in and registered. The CGC clarified that more private aircraft were operating outside of legal boundaries, which is why the service initiated a private jet owners’ verification exercise.

“We have seen so many of these aircraft flying and our record tends to show that only a few of them have shown up to pay duty and this is why we are bringing this verification up,” he said.

The Chief Government Coop underlined that the purpose of the verification process was to verify who was operating legally and who wasn’t. According to the customs helmsman, one of the main motivators for smugglers is the increase in fuel prices in neighbouring nations.

Related Topics:‘Oldest known drawing’ found in South Africa Featured Nigeria Nigerian Customs

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Kenya urges IMF to probe corruption after Western pressure

Published

1 day ago

October 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following pressure from Western countries, Kenya’s government has requested that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conduct an official evaluation of the country’s governance and corruption problems.

Kenya has battled debt that has risen to dangerous levels in recent years. Its decision to back out of planned tax increases earlier this year in response to violent protests made it more difficult for the country to receive a $600 million payment from the IMF.

The countries must request the so-called “governance diagnostic,” which examines if corruption and governance flaws are sapping revenue or causing other issues with state finances.

“We have received a governance diagnostics request from the authorities,” an IMF spokesperson said in response to written questions.

“The government of Kenya aims to strengthen its governance and anti-corruption policies. They intend to utilize these diagnostics to enhance public spending efficiency, boost competitiveness, foster growth, and inclusively reduce poverty.”

According to a person with knowledge of the matter, the assessment would be a gesture of goodwill in the nation’s attempts to get its finances back on track even though it was unrelated to the payment.

President William Ruto was forced to rescind $2.7 billion in proposed tax increases in June as a result of widespread protests centred around perceived waste and corruption in the government.

Requests for comments were not answered by Kenya’s finance ministry. The news that Western countries were pressuring for the IMF review was originally broken by Reuters on Tuesday.

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TotalEnergies CEO to meet Mozambique president for further project discourse

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

To discuss the company’s proposed LNG project in Mozambique with the nation’s new president, CEO Patrick Pouyanne has announced he will travel to Mozambique later this month.

“The project remains profitable, we remain committed,” Pouyanne said at an investor presentation.

The $20 billion Mozambique LNG project has been delayed because of worries about violent upheaval in the area, although Pouyanne claimed there had been “progress on security” recently.

On October 9, Mozambicans will cast their votes in presidential and legislative elections that will almost certainly prolong the fifty-year rule of the ruling Frelimo party, which is fighting a protracted Islamist insurgency in one of the largest gas reserves in Africa.

Pouyanne went on to say that lenders had affirmed between 70% and 80% of a $14 billion finance package that supports the project.

“We are waiting on the green light on financing from three credit agencies, some are in Western countries where rules on gas have changed … as soon as that is in place we will move,” Pouyanne said.