Buhari Reps urge President to cancel ban on importation of cars by land

The ban, which will affect both new and used cars, is expected to come into effect from January 1, 2017.

The House of Representatives has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the ban on importation of cars through land borders which was recently announced by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The ban, which will affect both new and used cars, is expected to come into effect from January 1, 2017.

“The House further urges the government to install border security and surveillance equipment for effective monitoring to address the recurring menace of smuggling and ensure a maximum revenue generation on all lawfully-imported goods,” a resolution reached by the House on Thursday, December 8, stated.

The House reached the resolution after Sokoto State lawmaker, Abdullahi Salame warned that the proposed ban could lead to massive job loss in the country.

“The government will indeed lose revenue and Customs personnel will connive with smugglers to divert revenue. Car dealers will lose their business and this also implies that millions of Nigerians will lose their means of livelihood,” he said.

“A similar exercise in the case of importation of rice has brought untold hardship on Nigerians as a bag of rice now sells for between N20,000 and N23,000 as against N8,000 a few months ago,” he added.Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali had said in October that the ban would help to put a stop to the menace of car smuggling.