Car manufacturers petition Goodluck asking him to suspend import duty waiver

Car manufacturers petition Goodluck asking him to suspend import duty waiver MEMBERS of the Nigerian Auto Manufacturers Association (Nama) have written to the federal government asking it to cancel a new set of duty waivers granted to businessmen to import cars into the country. In July this year, the federal government plans to restrict the importation of used cars in a bid to spur the local manufacturing industry. As part of the programme, trade and industry minister Olusegun Aganga is wooing several manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan, Renault and General Motors, encouraging them to come and open plants in Nigeria. Second-hand cars known as Tokunbo's are big business in Nigeria with a total of $4.2bn spent on imports in 2010 and $3.4bn shelled out to purchase them in 2012. Traditionally, Nigeria's European diaspora have been very active in the sector, shipping cars into the country on a weekly basis, mainly from Canning Town on the UK. To arrest the trend and switch the focus to local manufacturing, the government plans to double the import duty on second hand car imports as from July. In what appears to be a dramatic policy reversal, however, the government has granted several importers one-year waivers to Nama's chagrin. In three separate letters written to President Goodluck Jonathan finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Mr Aganga, Nama said the import waiver would sabotage the government's new automotive policy. Arthur Madueke, Nama's executive secretary, who signed the letter, said it would also cause a loss of billions of naira in government revenue, as it will negate the new auto policy which seeks to create employment through local car assemblage and manufacture. Mr Madueke's letter read: “Protest and request for cancellation of one-year duty waiver concession to import vehicles into Nigeria. We seek to remind the government that barely six months ago, we rolled out the drums to congratulate the federal government on the monumental stride taken to advance industrialisation in this great country when it announced the National Automotive Policy. "Two months ago, President Jonathan launched the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan and the National Enterprise Development Programme, which represent the federal government’s initiatives to industrialise this country, diversify our economy and reduce the stranglehold of developed economies on our people. Nama regrets that sadly, certain elements in our society, in pursuit of personal wealth, are prepared to stop at nothing to scuttle our aspirations to develop as a nation.” According to Mr Madueke, Nama regrets that they had come to learn that the government had issued a letter of duty waivers to certain auto importers, valid for one year as from February 2014. He added that the project does not provide for any investment in the productive sector. Mr Madueke said that his members are prepared to meet the vehicular requirements of the World Economic Forum taking place in Abuja from May 7 to 9 without any request for a duty waiver. Nama requested the intervention of the president in getting the government to withdraw the said duty waiver letter immediately and cancel them. - See more at: http://www.nigerianwatch.com/news/