Naira Free fall: ANLCA Urges Members to Embrace Exportation in 2024

By DAPO OLAWUNI

In order to help cushion the continuous depreciation of the Naira currency against the US Dollar, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has urged its members to embrace exportation in 2024, in order to generate foreign exchange.

Vice President of ANLCA, Prince Segun Oduntan in a tete-a-tete with the maritime press at the association national secretariat on Friday, also assured the Nigeria Customs Service of the association support in realizing its over N5trillion revenue target for the year 2024.

Prince Oduntan urged the Federal Government and its regulatory agencies to pay more attention to creating incentives such as export grants and others that can be given to people doing export.

He also lamented that the port system environment as currently operated does not encourage export activities. According to him, cargoes that are loaded with export goods find it difficult to enter into the ports for weeks due to poor regulation.

Speaking on his expectations for year 2024, the ANLCA Vice President said “Our expectations are for the Naira to gain against the US dollars, we are encouraging our people to embrace export trade. Some of them are already going into agriculture so they can be exporting the proceeds.

“This will enable us to backup government efforts in shoring up our Naira currency. We are also encouraging our members to be compliant with government regulations. With our compliance, we would be able to dialogue with the government agencies and they will inturn listen to us

“There are incentives such as export grants and others that can be given to people doing export, the other thing is the port system environment, cargoes that are loaded with export goods find it difficult to enter our ports for weeks which is not suppose to be.

“In the process some of the goods will get spoilt due to the delay, which is very bad. This has to do with issue of poor port access system, the ETO call-up system as far as i am concern is a scam, it has to go.

“In Ghana, the access road to Tema port is not as big as ours here and you can never see any container littering the road, once it’s time for export goods to move in, they do it and if it’s time for import goods to come out it follows suite, if you do not have anything to do in the port you will not access it” Oduntan stated

Continuing, Prince Oduntan noted that in as much as many clearing agents are now embracing exportation, the major challenge is that export containers find it difficult getting to their final destination thereby making the economy to loose foreign exchange.

He called on the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola to ensure that the port system operates on 24hours operation, and to ensure that the rail system is functioning optimally for transportation of cargoes in and out of the port.

He lamented that one of the impediments to cargo evacuation at the port currently, is that many of the terminal operators fail to open up their facility to barges.

He said “cargo movement should not be by road alone, however, presently, it is not every terminal that barges can access, some are double handling while some are triple which you have to cost and the risk involved. There are lots of things to write out and proposed to the minister if he wants things to work out”

Speaking on the activities of the Nigeria Customs Service and its revenue target, Prince Oduntan expressed confidence in the Comptroller-General of Customs, Wale Adeniyi, saying that he has the capacity to deliver.

“He has been talking to his officers, we can see a renew Customs now, people are happy doing the work and we agents have been talking to our people that it is better to be compliant than for us to be paying one levy or fine

“We have found out that there is no point, if you are supposed to pay a duty of N3 million for instance, and you went and pay N1.6m, your are given a Debit Note and the penalty of 25% of that amount , it doesn’t make any sense. It’s better to be compliant from the onset, that will give you peace of mind of a fruitful day at work” he said