Clearing agents to FG: Increase age limit of imported vehicles to 15 years

Clearing agents have asked the federal government to increase the age limit of vehicles coming into the country to 15 years.

Kayode Farinto, acting national president of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), said this in a felicitation message to Muslims on this year’s Eid-el Kabir celebration.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) had recently reduced the age limit of imported vehicles from 15 years to 12 years, warning that any vehicle older than 12 years shall be impounded.

In the statement, Farinto also said the country’s automotive policy should be reviewed.

“The age limit on imported vehicles needs to be reviewed to at least 15 years from the current 12 years. The entire auto policy is a scam that has continued to enrich a few individual Nigerians at the detriment of our economy,” the statement reads.

“With the introduction in the last 10 years or more, we are unable to produce ordinary radiator, meanwhile few people are smiling to the banks with our money under the guise of being local assemblers and manufacturers. It is high time we revised this policy.”

Farinto further emphasised the need for the federal government to have a consistent policy in the maritime industry, adding that frequent changing of transportation ministers is detrimental to stakeholders’ businesses.

“This trial and error of the government must be stopped forthwith, just when we thought there is eureka in the transportation ministry, the government decide to change the minister to bring a new person that will start learning and commence visitation in the next three months,” the statement adds.

“We are stagnant and not really moving forward with these retrogressive steps every time and it is encouraging neocolonialism.

“The federal government in line with international best practices needs to reorganise and reorientate the management of Nigeria Customs Service from the present moribund one.

“The present one has continually brought confusion to the trading community with her high-handedness, without control and checks to the extent that the federal ministry of finance has lost her supervisory role, hence the high level of non-professionalism of the service to the nation.”