Shittu tasks FG on scrapping waiver clause in Customs law

By Dapo Olawuni |

Immediate past president of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Prince Olayiwola Shittu has called on the Federal Government to scrap the waiver clause in the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) saying that the waivers and political considerations in the law is killing the nations economy.

Shittu stated this during a plenary session at an event in Lagos at the weekend.

According to him, there is room for political patronage in the CEMA law which states that the Nigerian president has power to import any item of his choice without paying any duty or tariff to the Customs Service.

Shittu noted that same political considerations is inherent in the Cabotage Law being implemented by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
He said that these waivers and political considerations have made it difficult for policies and laws to be effective in the transport and maritime sector.

Shittu who is Chief Executive of Skellas Nigeria Limited said “Our laws are crafted deliberately to fail, whenever you put political considerations in what you do, it is meant to fail, it is not the crafters of the law, but because people must always give room for political patronage”

“For example, the Customs and Excise Management Act crafted since 1954, it gave room that the President of the Federal Republic shall import, free of Customs duties and taxes, any item of his own chosen”

“The point is that, he doesn’t need anything to be imported for himself, so people capitize on that, and since then, even though the law was made for our colonial masters to evade taxes themselves, that waiver clause have been crafted into our laws, clauses are meant to satisfy the whims of political office holders”

“Ministry of Transportation today is regarded as grade A ministry, as soon as government changes hands and they are going to appoint people, everyone wants to know who is going to transport ministry, this is because of exercise of power”

“The agencies of government in the ministry of transportation cannot be duplicated elsewhere in any other ministries”

“The Cabotage Law says the Minister of Transport “shall allow if satisfied” but when the right thing is done, you will be satisfied” he said

Shittu argued that most countries of the world today, one of which is United States of America do not allow for waivers, urging Nigeria to also follow in their foot steps.

According to him, American Cabotage Law has been successful in implementation because it does not give room for waivers and political considerations.

He said “There should be a policy of government that would insist on Nigeria first, and it should be about the country first, the same way in America does not allow waiver”