The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to provide adequate notice to stakeholders in maritime industry/general public before altering customs exchange rates.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Leke Abejide (ADC-Kogi) during plenary in Abuja on Thursday.
Abejide had titled his motion: “Need to Rescue the Nigerian Economy from imminent Collapse and Restore Investors’ Confidence in the System.
Abejide said that conventional fiscal policies required a minimum of 90 days to manifest, in contrast with the current
trend in Nigeria where immediate enforcement was prevalent.
He said this necessitated the need for a shift toward a collaborative approach which integrated fiscal and monetary policies with stakeholder’s engagement.
This, according to him, is to prevent isolation and guarantee active stakeholders’ involvement in consequential decisions.
Adopting the motion, the house said that the move was to ensure transparency and allow stakeholders to prepare for any changes that might affect their operations;
The house also urged the CBN to maintain the system exchange rate for Customs duty and Excise duty purposes below N1,000/ One dollar, preferably N951.941/ One dollar to encourage patronage in Nigerian ports.
This, according to the lawmakers, is to prevent galloping inflation, aiming to balance economic stability with competitiveness globally.
The house further urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure the international best practice of allowing a 90-day grace period for fiscal policy changes to facilitate the completion of ongoing transactions under existing policies.
The house subsequently mandated the Committees of Customs and Excise, Finance and Banking Regulations to interface with the Minister of Finance, CBN Governor, and Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs.
This, according to them, is to know how fixed exchange rate for Customs and Excise duties will work for the system to boost exports and encourage patronage in the nation’s ports.