The Managing Director of Coleman Wires and Cables, George Onafowokan, says it is a big mistake that the Nigerian Customs has been turned into an Internally Generated Revenue body.
The businessman, who was part of the guests at Channels Television’s Independence Day special event which was tagged, “Nigeria’s Challenging Economy: Strategies For Recovery”, said it only in Nigeria that Customs serve as a revenue generating agency.
A wall shows the emblem of the Nigeria Customs Service in this photo taken at the Federal Operations Unit in Ikeja, Lagos State on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. (Photo: Facebook/Nigeria Customs Service)
“I still do not understand how the Customs has become a bureau de change. I don’t think the philosophy of any Customs anywhere in the world on fiscal policy is to balance, it is not the monetary policy IGR-driven Customs,” Onafowokan said.
“It is only in Nigeria that our Customs is IGR-based and that is a big mistake, big error and until the day we realise that Customs is for fiscal balancing which is why Customs is under the Ministry of Finance not under the CBN.
“It’s done on purpose so that the Ministry of Finance can carry its fiscal policy role through them where necessary and that is how it is supposed to be but now we are turning them into IGR-based and it is affecting the manufacturers.”
Onafowakan lamented inconsistencies in government’s policies, saying that any time that happens it slows down manufacturing and productivity.
He said that the economy will continue to suffer if the government keeps switching policies that are detrimental to manufacturers and small and medium enterprises.
