NECA blames Customs’ inefficiencies for porous border

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed concern with the recent announcement extending the closure of the country’s land borders which was earlier closed on August 20, 2019,till January 31, 2020. The association blamed inefficiencies of the Nigeria Customs Service officials on the porosity of the border which led to the closure initially.

In a statement by Mr. Timothy Olawale, Director-General of NECA, he stated that “while we acknowledge the trade imbalance between Nigeria and its neighbours and the security challenges facing the country currently, the citizen’s welfare and business prosperity should not be sacrificed for the inefficiency of our border policing”.

He stated further that “Government must take a broader look at the fundamentals of its assumptions that led to the decision to close the borders. He noted that Government should not stifle legitimate businesses because of the inefficiency of the Customs Service to keep the borders safe. If the borders are safe and Government enforces the bilateral and multilateral agreements it had signed with other countries, there won’t be need to close the borders.

“Efforts should be stepped up to equip the Customs to live up to its responsibilities of protecting the borders and nip smuggling in the bud. He further stated that “at a time like this when unemployment rate is on the increase (23.1%), underemployment at 16.6% and expected to reach 33.5% by 2020, inflation rate now on upward trend, Government’s fiscal and monetary policies should focus on sustainable enterprise, job creation and rapid economic development premised on wide-range consultation with critical stakeholders.”

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He expressed that coordination and management of fiscal policies should be geared towards enterprise competitiveness, job creation and alleviating poverty as against impoverishing the people by such policies of the government. Mr Olawale stated that “despite the many merits that come with the border-closure, we are concerned that the policy comes without any palliative for legitimate local businesses, which negate the attempts at alleviating poverty and reduce unemployment. The continuous closure also possesses the capacity to render many Nigerians jobless and hungry”.

The NECA Boss averred that “the policy was more consistent with income generation and not in agreement with the harsh effect it has on households, businesses and investors’ confidence in general. Since the advent of this policy, prices of goods, especially food items had increased tremendously, further making the average Nigerian vulnerable as 70% of poor households budget is spent on food.”