From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
House of Representatives, yesterday, charged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to rescue the country’s economy from total collapse to restore investors’ confidence in the country.
The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give adequate notice to stakegolders in the maritime industry before altering customs duties. This, according to the parliament, will ensure transparency and give stakeholders ample time to prepare accordingly.
Furthermore, the Green Chamber charged the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure it allows 90-day grace period for fiscal policy changes to enable completion of ongoing transactions under existing policies. The House equally mandated its Committees on Customs and Excise, Finance and Banking Regulations to interface with the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, and Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, on how to fix duties that encourage patronage in the country’s ports.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Leke Abejide, on “need to rescue the Nigerian Economy from imminent collapse and restore Investors’ confidence in the system”.
Abejide, in his motion, informed the House that the CBN has increased customs tariffs six times in the last six months, with attendant consequences on the economy.
He said: “The CBN has raised customs tariffs six times in the past six months, causing inflation and disrupting import and excise duty calculations, which businesses rely on for business planning.
“The CBN experienced a series of exchange rate adjustments for customs duties within six months, on June 24, 2023, the rate increased from N422.30/$1 to N589/$1, followed by N770.88/$1 on July 6, 2023, N783.174/$1, on November 14, 2023, N951.941/$1 on December 7, 2023, and a double-adjustment on February 2 and 3, 2024, reaching N1,356.833/$1 and N1,413.62/$1 respectively, illustrating excessive fluctuations and volatility in the currency market, raising significant concerns about business planning and economic stability.”