Follow Us on Google
From Uche Usim, Abuja
Mr. Ajibola Adedoyin needs no introduction in the transportation sector. The national president of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), like many other Nigerians, insists the economy is in dire straits and needs to be rescued most urgently through credible leadership.
In view of that, Adedoyin, in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, said the 2023 general election, especially the battle for the Presidency, would not be business as a usual.
He said the union’s executives and members, numbering over 3.6 million, will no longer sit on the fence but throw their weight behind any of the contestants that exhibits sufficient capacity and capabilities to tow the nation’s sinking ship back to the shore of hope.
He spoke more about AMDON’s challenges, 2023 and more.
What is AMDON doing to ensure a viable leadership is installed in Nigeria to take care of the concerns of the association and Nigerians in general.
Welll, like what are we talking about the current political dispensation, I think this time around as a body we have decided to truly come together and see that it is those that have the interest of our nation at heart that we will vote for. Economic challenges are major causes of insecurity and we need leaders with the ability to turn things around.
Because I can tell you, we have at least 3.6 million registered members in the 36 states and the FCT. We’re going to use that as a tool come 2023 to know which way we are going to go. So, we can look for a credible person, the one that will be very passionate about the people and its policies; the ones that will hear your cries and reason with it. Those are the kind of people that we are going to work for as an association, to make sure that our country comes back on track; so that we can have security and then we can do our businesses the way we’re supposed to do it as it’s being done in other climes. And you know, even in our kind of industry, we need the importation of cars, which is our business and revenue. We all know that the major crimes are done with vehicles. But when you leave it open that every anybody can go and import cars, it then makes it very difficult for vehicles to be traced by the security agencies. If anything happens, because you need to trace a vehicle, like in other climes, you will be shocked to see that that most vehicles that we import, if you want to know the history, once you put in the VIN, it will give you all the history. But I can tell you there are certain history that stop at our borders. After that, there is no more history of the vehicle, which is very wrong. Why? Because anybody, even if you are not in the trade of vehicle importation, neither are you into selling, you are free to bring in vehicles. Well, we’re not saying that you should not, but if it is regulated, you’re supposed to do it through an organisation. So that that that same person we have all your data and anything happens, that person can be traced. And which will help in the aspect of security. So, in this dispensation, we have really made up our mind to work with a candidate that will give us those things that I have just mentioned. That is the person we are going to work for as a body. And we are really planning to do our mobilization in such a way that our candidate, by the grace of God, will be the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
There are many political parties in Nigeria, which one are you considering the most?
We are watching and carrying out due diligence on the presidential candidates representing various parties.
When the time is right, we will take a stand because, honestly, this is not the time to let things be business as usual; 2023 is a rescue mission for the country and we need people who can deliver by implementing people-centric policies that will make life easier for Nigerians and ultimately grow the economy.
Look at the e-valuation policy, to what purpose does it serve the average Nigerian? There are so many policies and programmes that are hurting the nation and the citizens. So, these must change and we will queue behind a presidential candidate that will drive the change.
There has been so much push-back against e-valuation system introduced by Customs with FG’s support, what is the problem?
One of the issues we have is concerning the e-valuation system of the Nigeria Customs Service, which has been giving us a lot of issues. So, to be frank, the e-valuation system is giving us a lot of problems.
If you remember when they first started, they were using brand new cars to do the ratings before we went on air and did a press conference and said, no, we’re not accepting that, before it was reviewed down. And then after the review, which we equally came to terms with, we have seen that the way they’re going about it is not what the association accepts, neither will it augur well for the economy of this nation, most especially the transportation sector, being one of the economic pillars of any nation. So, in view of this, we call on the government to see what they can do in that regard. Because it is quite unfortunate that the larger proportion of vehicles use for our day to day life activities falls under the 10 years maximum age that was set by the Nigeria Customs Service and this has caused lots of issues. Because what it then means now is that any car that has been imported into Nigeria is going to be levied based on 10 years of age from the date of manufacture.
So, regardless of the age of vehicle imported, the duty would be pegged and calculated as if it were 10 years old.
For example, if one imports a 2007 model car, that’s a 15-year old vehicle, but the duty would be charged as if it is a 2012 model car that is 10 years old. This is not good because it has made the price of vehicles skyrocket, far beyond the purchasing power of the average Nigerian. And this has its own disadvantages to the economy of Nigeria, and to the well being of Nigerians and equally the transportation sector. Like I said earlier, most of the cars that are used for transportation falls below that range and the transportation sector is going to suffer a lot because transporters can’t afford vehicles in the 10-year age bracket.
Again, people will not be willing to import such vehicles through our sea borders because they need the vehicles for transportation as their own means of economic survival. Transportation is a necessity to a very large extent and has got nothing to do with luxury. So, as long as it’s a necessity that we must use and no matter what the government does concerning it, people will still look for how to get it into the country because it’s a means of survival. And that’s why we, as stakeholders, are very shocked that those that are making those short term policies are not wise enough to look at the country effect of what they want to do. They are just focusing on what they were able to rake in as revenue, which of course, will eventually crash because at the end of the day, there’ll be diversion of goods to other neighboring countries. Yes, and it will encourage smuggling. I can tell you very well, even within the northern zone only as confirmed by the federal government itself, we have about 137 land borders unguarded. I mean in the north only. So, now even the ones that are being guarded, there are the issues of officials that are supposed to be there conniving and letting these vehicles come in. Now, you cannot imagine the kind of loss of revenue that will be recorded. So, the country’s porous. And when it is porous, there are some kinds of policies or things you want to do and know straight up that this very one will not work for now, until you put some things in place.
Again, you cannot even decide to kill the transportation sector based on the fact that you want to increase revenue, because what the transportation sector can bring or do for the economy, you cannot equate it at all, compared to the revenue you are thinking of making from there. So, if you look at the collapse of businesses, compared to the revenue you are eyeing, you obviously know it is pennywise, and pound foolish. So now, we are now calling on the government to look at this issue and do the needful immediately in the interest of the country.
Because the cost effect of this thing will be much more than what the government feels they can take at the end of the day. We talk about the EndSARS thing, unemployment etc. Because you want to make revenue, you are killing businesses, you are causing unemployment. Now, most people that are into this business on genuine grounds, because they cannot bring in the vehicles, they are now out of business.
Even individuals who managed to save up to buy personal vehicles that hitherto sold for N2 million or a little above that will now have to cough out about N4 million in an already distressed economy. So, what good purpose does that serve? That’s why we are calling on the federal government and the NCS to rescind that rule of benchmarking Customs duties on 10 years old vehicles.
Yes, they will tell you that the reason is to ensure only standard vehicles come in so that Nigeria will not be a dumping ground for old vehicles.
That argument is weak because it’s left for those inspecting the vehicles to detect the ones that can be fixed and will be okay and those beyond repairs or categorised as junks.
And I can tell you, in lots of instances, those so-called older cars are more durable than the so-called younger ones.
More importantly, we even need to ask, those 10 year old vehicles or the ones that are being put together here, are they affordable and accessible? Now, tell me, what is the essence of producing things that are not affordable and accessible? It is practically of no use. I can tell you only the government can patronize them.
What is the government’s patronage ratio when placed side by side with the population of Nigeria? Very low. So, it requires the greater patronage of the population and yet the vehicles assembled here are unaffordable and inaccessible. So, in reality, you’re doing a great disservice to the economy of this nation. You’re trying to impoverish the people the more and make life much more difficult for them. And I can tell you at the end of the day, they will now say yes, they have seen that this thing is not working but that would be after a lot of businesses have gone under, people have died, you have choked the economy and so on. Now, we’re talking of borrowing and borrowing and the one you have, you’re not managing it well.
They should please as a matter of urgency, revert to how they used to do it. We’re not saying that the e-valuation itself is not okay, but let the duty valuation be calculated with the age of the vehicle.
What is the next step for you, if government sticks to its guns?
They said they are doing us, motor dealers and importers, a favour by still allowing us to import vehicles older than the 10 years ceiling. And this is where we have to be practical. They know quite well that with the age pegged for imported vehicles, no average Nigerian can afford it as things stand today.
So, if they insist on ending importation of vehicles older than 10 years, they are invariably saying stop importation of vehicles totally and encourage smuggling. You know that vehicles are necessities. And you and I know that smuggling even breeds other crimes and constitutes a threat to national security, aside robbing the government of necessary revenue.
These are some of the things the government should consider before coming up with any policy.
They should look at the after effects of all policies on the economy, individuals etc.
That is why we are saying that this e-evaluation policy is not good enough and they should revert to the old template, the year of manufacture.
Cost of vehicle clearance has skyrocketed, any hope for a better tomorrow?
I can tell you there is an additional N1 million on duty payment on cars with this e-valuation thing. For example, a Toyota Corolla that will sell before this e-valuation for N2.4 million now goes for N3.8 million. For me, it is huge.
You can say that the high dollar rate effect is there as well but the e-valuation has worsened everything.
Besides, if we talk about the dollar, which we can okay, there is nothing much on the immediate, we can do something to help our own economy by reversing the e-valuation policy.
Let’s look at the concomitant job losses…
Talking about our sector, many companies who were hitherto doing well are now weak.
Speaking of those on the verge of collapse, we will be talking about at least 350 companies.
People try to survive but this has discouraged many from coming in here to eke a living and those already in are on the verge of packing up.
The transportation sector is a very big sector and it has the capacity of making up for any unemployment challenge because of our population. But with this current situation, it has disenfranchised lots of people because they cannot afford the operational costs.
This same e-valuation thing encourages accidents and I’ll explain how.
The so-called old ‘tokunbo’ cars are not coming in. So, it is these same old rickety ones that are available that the drivers will continue to manage and they are prone to accidents. They cannot afford the new ones of 10 years old and they have to keep managing what they have to survive.
So, if you look at it from every side, anything revenue or profit the government is eyeing to make would be lost. They will lose much more.
Getting some new cars on the road will be the best approach to it.
What is the way out?
We have even tried to have discussions with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) on getting designs for cars for the average Nigerian. Not cars for the affluent. Their work is automotive design and development. That’s their major work. Let them give us a Nigerian kind of car that the larger populace can afford and access. And how do we get that done?
You can design a current car and remove what they called luxury items in it. That is how other countries started. With that, you can bring down the prices of those cars. It is possible for that car to run on an engine that is moderate and good enough with fuel efficiency. It is not the money of the engine that will determine the efficiency of that engine. So, there are engines that can be built that will give you efficiency and at the same time, consume less fuel. And then emit less carbon monoxide. Yes, if they can do that, then they’ll make sure that every other thing is just for minimal comfort. No matter how small that car is, if it is brand new and affordable, it will make sense. And from that place, we start advancing. But this idea of wanting to start from the top, and you are bringing out something that the people cannot afford. The last time, they talked about making funds available. They say N10 billion. I can’t tell you in the past six years, they’ve been trying to make that money available. And how many people can that N10 billion serve loans? And then the loan will be for which level of workers? Because I cannot see a level 12, 13 or 14 given a loan of N5.5 million. Tell him to pay within how many years? And how many years does he even have left in the service? So, you see, all these policies are not well thought out. And that’s why we’re calling on the government to please see reason and rethink these policies because they’re killing the economy day by day. And it is taking people away from the employment circle. And you know what it is, even with our current situation of insecurity in this nation, we are trying to provide employment and yet, you’re taking them out of jobs. So, we need the government to intervene on this matter as fast as possible.
