The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has revealed that vehicle importation in Nigeria decreased by 45% in the first quarter of 2024 due to foreign exchange challenges. In an interview with Arise Television, Adeniyi highlighted the critical impact of volatile exchange rates on businesses, particularly car dealers.

“It affected car dealers. We had as much as a 45% decrease in the volume of cars that were brought into Nigeria in that period. And they were not the kind of cars that fetched optimum revenue for the customs. Not only cars, but even regular imports were also affected because people could no longer import raw materials as they wanted and the volatility did not allow them to plan for tomorrow,” said Adeniyi.

Despite the downturn, Adeniyi expressed optimism that the situation was improving in the second quarter of the year. He noted, “But we see some relative degree of stability in the second quarter because there are lots of discussions going on. Some at the level of the National Assembly, most of them spearheaded by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, bring on the stakeholders that are involved together, to ensure that we achieve stability.”

Private Jet Owners’ Verification Exercise

Adeniyi also provided an update on the ongoing verification exercise for private jet owners. He mentioned that many private jet owners had begun leaving Nigeria since the verification announcement, indicating they did not want to participate in the process. “Very few of them have shown up for verification and we gathered from intelligence that a good number of them have been leaving Nigeria since the announcement was given because they would not want to be verified,” he stated.

The CGC clarified that private jets used in Nigeria must pay customs duty according to international aviation law, except for those here on a temporary basis. The verification exercise aims to ensure compliance with this requirement, as data from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) showed that many private jets operating in the country had not paid customs duty.

“When the exercise started sometime in 2019, the service realised N2bn. We discovered that there were more private jets that were operating in Nigeria but had not been brought under the ambit of the law. So, the data that we got from the NCAA showed that only very few of them paid customs duty to operate in Nigeria,” Adeniyi explained.

Addressing Smuggling Incentives

Adeniyi identified the significant price difference in fuel between Nigeria and its neighboring countries as a major incentive for fuel smuggling. “In Benin Republic, a litre of fuel is between N1,500 and N1,600. In Cameroon, it is high as N2,000 per litre. So, when we have this kind of thing around our neighbors and we are still doing a litre between N710 and N720, there is already an incentive because the price difference is very wide,” he said.

To combat smuggling, the NCS is collaborating with relevant agencies to monitor the trucking of products from their depots in real-time.

Improving Welfare for Customs Officials

The CGC emphasized efforts to enhance the welfare of customs officials, including better remuneration, improved working conditions, and timely payment of allowances. He also announced a new policy for timely promotions, stating, “We had an understanding that every year, on January 1, we are releasing the promotion of officers who are deserving. We have done it in January 2024 and we are hoping that by January 2025, the next batch of officers would benefit and they would be paid salaries commensurate with their new rank.”