Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, has stated that the country’s economy is on the rise with great investment opportunities
He stated this Thursday in Abuja when he received with a high-level delegation from First Abu Dhabi Bank, led by the Group Head of Investment Banking, Martin Tricaud, to discuss investment opportunities and strategic partnerships
Edun highlighted Nigeria’s economic transformation over the past 18 months, citing key reforms such as market-driven pricing for foreign exchange and petroleum, increased trade through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and stronger revenue from both oil and non-oil sectors.
These measures, he noted, had stabilised the economy, improved gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and strengthened the trade balance.
“The progress we have made in stabilising the economy and driving growth is a testament to our administration’s commitment to economic reform.
“We are eager to showcase these opportunities to investors and partners, like First Abu Dhabi Bank,” he said, while explaining efforts to boost food production and affordability andcensuring long-term economic resilience.
LCCI Expresses Concern Over Sudden Implementation of 4% Customs Processing Charge
Dike Onwuamaeze
Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed concern over the abrupt implementation of the newly introduced four per cent Customs Processing Charge (CPC).
LCCI called on the federal government and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to suspend the enforcement of the charge and engage in a structured sensitisation process to ensure that stakeholders were adequately informed and prepared before its implementation.
Director General of LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, said yesterday that inasmuch as the chamber recognised that the four per cent charge was backed by the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, specifically under Section 18, “We are deeply troubled by the manner of its sudden implementation without consultations with relevant stakeholders.”
According to Almona, Section 23 of the same Act clearly mandates public notification and stakeholder engagement before the introduction of new charges.
She said, “Unfortunately, the business community, including importers, exporters, freight forwarders, and clearing agents, was not given any prior notice or opportunity to prepare for this additional financial burden.
“Beyond the absence of consultation, the chamber wishes to have all government agencies concerned about and (be) sensitive to any additional cost burden on businesses and regulations that can create a difficult business environment.
“Currently, businesses grapple with various levies, taxes, and charges. We are also faced with other policy cost implications, like a high interest rate, increasing cost of operations due to inflation, and scarcity of FOREX to import critical input for production.
“Most recently, the business community has been grappling with a planned 50 per cent hike in telecoms tariffs in the face of rising logistics costs due to high energy prices.”
Almona stated that the lack of consultation and sensitisation contradicted international best practices, which required trade-related policies to be implemented through transparent and inclusive procedures.
According to her, “The sudden enforcement of this charge is already disrupting business operations, increasing transaction costs, and causing uncertainty in the trading environment. Such an approach is detrimental to economic growth and investor confidence.
“We demand more efficiency with our port operations to ease the import and export of goods, reduce corruptive tendencies, and take trade facilitation as equally important as revenue generation.”
LCCI further warned that the sudden implementation of the charge would risk causing congestion at the ports, as many traders and clearing agents might hesitate to process shipments, leading to delays and possible disruptions in the supply chain.
She stated, “Such an outcome will ultimately hurt revenue generation for the government and impact the overall ease of doing business in Nigeria.
“Uncertainties and controversies are toxic to our business environment and must be carefully avoided. With tariff wars across major world economies, Nigeria can position itself to take up emerging export opportunities.
“While we look forward to a swift response by the customs service in backtracking on this levy imposition, we stand by our concerns as stated above and unequivocally call for the right things to be done at the right time.
“We stand ready to collaborate with the government and other stakeholders to ensure that trade-related policies are executed in a manner that supports sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all Nigerians.”
The chamber stated that the Nigeria Customs Service surpassed its revenue target for 2024 by over N1 trillion and advised the government to utilise the massive revenue generation from the ports to boost port infrastructure, process automation, and create a conducive business environment that would support export earnings and boost the country’s foreign exchange revenue.
