Nwabunike Seeks Percentage of Customs Revenue For Freight Forwarders

The Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Iju Anthony Nwabunike has advised the Federal Government to share a certain percentage of actual or projected Customs revenue earnings with Customs Brokers.

Iju Anthony Nwabunike made the observation at the 2023 Conference and Awards Ceremony organized by the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) in Apapa, Lagos.

Nwabunike said “For 2024, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service recently said the service aims to collect N6Trillion for government.

“Out of this projected collection, 4 trillion naira will likely be made through customs brokers”.

“Giving them a percentage will solidify their stake and would enhance their productivity as their benefits would be dependent on what they made for the government” he concluded.

Nwabunike while speaking on the topic ‘The Role of the Customs Brokers in Sustaining a Viable Trans-Border Trade for National Economic Growth’ also noted that it would be a win-win for the government and the brokers as more revenue would be collected.

It will also reduce the stress of deploying risk management tools like post-clearance audits, alerts, and demand notices (DN) to prevent revenue loss”.

The President of AMJON, Paul Ogbuokiri while delivering his welcome address said the poor state of the Country’s mono-cultural economy needs urgent attention of the Federal Government to steer the country away from its crisis state. “We have never seemed to bother ourselves with the fact that our Balance of Trade year in and year out has been unfavorable to us.

“Now the shock has become permanent because our crude oil has become encumbered, a large portion of it now goes into payment of debts acquired and squandered by politicians, while the other portion is being stolen by powerful people; we are therefore left with little or no foreign exchange to finance our necessary and unnecessary imports.

“We are aware that our president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu since he assumed office has never rested on his oars to find a solution to our economic quagmire, he has used the opportunity of every foreign trip he has attended so far to canvas for foreign investment in Nigeria.

“But, while we are waiting for all those presidential engagements to start bearing fruits, AMJON is of the opinion that this is an auspicious time for us as a nation to sincerely look inwards and commence full domestic production for our consumption as it was in the 70s and 80s. The excess, we should sell to other countries for our forex needs.

“As we strongly believe that trade in non-oil exports holds the key to Nigeria’s economic survival, particularly with regard to intra-African trade.

“With platforms like the Economic Community of West Africa States-ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS), African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the recent deal between the Customs Administrations of Nigeria and the Benin Republic.

“We believe that discussions should center on trans-border trade between our country and its neighbours with the view to identifying any encumbrance that could hamper trade now or in the future”, he concluded.