Renewed Hardship? Nigerians React As Video of Protesting Importers, Fleet Brokers Goes Viral
By: Olufemi Orunsola
Barely three days after the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS launched its Reputation Management Initiative aimed at promoting, protecting, and projecting the image of the Service, a video of protests by importers and fleet brokers has gone viral, attracting reactions of Nigerians.
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports as gathered from the viral video sighted over the weekend that the importers and fleet brokers trooped out to protest what they describe as a "suffocating and killing" increase in clearing fees by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The importers and fleet brokers, in the rowdy protest video, were seen protesting and ventilating their concerns over the new rates introduced by the NCS.
A prominent voice of lamentation by one the protesting importers towered high above the cacophony of voices as he shouts in pidgin English, " Rx 010, one million, surface duty." Screaming higher he lamemts, "Hey!!!! We do die o. We don die oooooo!"
Sustaining his lamentations after a brief pause, the unseen protester gives further details in his lamentations as he clarified that the new clearing fees for RX 330 010, a popular car used by Nigerians under the new tariff regime will now require a total clearing fees of N3.8 million naira".
OTN News further reports that the NCS introduced a new four per cent Free-on-Board (FOB) levy on all imports, replacing the previous seven per cent customs collection charge and the one per cent Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) fee. While the NCS claims the new levy streamlines charges and aligns with efforts to modernise customs operations through the B’Odogwu Clearance System, importers and brokers argue it represents a net increase in costs, particularly for vehicle imports and high-volume goods. The levy, calculated based on the value of imported goods and transportation costs up to the port of loading, is seen by many as a burden in an already strained economic climate marked by currency volatility and port inefficiencies.
However, the protesting importers have warned that the newly increased clearing fees meant that life would become more difficult for Nigerians.
They warned that the implementation of the new tariff regime would only worsen the already high cost of doing business in Nigeria.
A netizen identified on Instagran as @unlimited eniola in swift response to the video said, " They should not be the only one protesting, but the whole Nigeria. Things are hard, but they keep putting more burdens on us."
He went further to query, "What did Nigerians do to people in government?" He concludes his lamentations, saying, "I can't afford just a Toyota Corolla 2006 because a Nigerian used is now N5.2 million." Posting emojis of tears to wrap up his reaction to the development
Another netizen corroborated @unlimited eniola posting, "You are very correct my brother, is so sad.
Sunweb_y2 chided the protesters who were calling on the government by posting, " Which FG are they calling? The one that asked Costums to increase it?"
Another netzen identified as @ emnanuelmorianugba responded saying, "Little wonder people cannot afford Tokunbo cars again.Now we know why Customs keep declaring huge revenue but what the government do with all these internally generated revenue is another discussion."
"What are they using the revenue generated to do sef?" queries @eh_hospitality1, who stated that, "Last year, they generated about N6 1trillion and the port is always congested coupled with bad roads."
A netizen @ thisisgrant posted that the development only poi to the fact that the government of the day is "A very hard and unresponsive government lacking in empathy while mocking the suffering of millions of people."
As at the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Customs Service has not given any official position to confirm the new increased fees reportedly being protested by the importers and fleet brokers.
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