MAN EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT THE REPEAL OF THE 43-ITEM FOREX PROHIBITION.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restrictions on the importation of forty-three commodities. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is concerned about this decision, stating that it will negatively impact the country's economy.

In an interview with reporters in Ilorin, Dr. Kamoru Yusuf, Vice President of MAN, South-West Zone, made this claim.

He called the program an economic somersault, the country's main economic issue is the mismatch between supply and demand in the foreign exchange market.

“I want the federal government to know that FX market's supply and demand imbalance,” said Yusuf. Therefore, the reversal of the 43 items represents a policy error that might hurt our nation's economy.

Financia institutions are completely bewildered and that some banks would experience challenges during an upcoming period of widespread job losses. He said the CBN should address the matter with all of Nigeria's banks.

The following recommendations for the future: the free mining, steel, and customs services should all be closely monitored by the federal government and Apex Bank.

“The immediate review of the policy surrounding the free trade zone in Nigeria, which had been seriously abused and which adds little to no value to our economy in terms of generating FX,” he said, was one potential remedy. The government must look into and compile a complete list of all the businesses that register under the total amount of their investments.

It has been noted that finished items worth about USD 800 million, some of which are subpar, make up 60% of the imports into the nation from the Asian continent.

Because of this, the Nigeria Customs Service is losing almost N300 billion monthly that should have come from duty revenues from the importation of some of the aforementioned goods under the pretext of a free trade zone.

Furthermore, the statute governing free trade zones forbids the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) from collecting taxes on all the commodities imported via these zones.

It is important to highlight that although these items will be sold in naira, the importers wish to return the proceeds to their home country in dollars. Since the commodities were imported “dishonestly,” they have no other option for obtaining funds except to exploit the black market.

Because they already receive export refunds from their nation for the finished goods they have sent to Nigeria, they can thus afford to buy the dollar at any rate.

For this reason, he recommended to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the Minister of Trade and Investment be given the authority to designate an organization to investigate the data and quantity of businesses registered under the free trade zone.

In order to justify the amount of goods that importers have repatriated out of Nigeria under the guise of a free trade zone without having to pay duty or any other type of taxes to the Nigerian government, the industrialist also suggested that President Tinubu order the Nigeria Customs Service, which has a robust platform, to submit the list of importers who have been bringing goods into the country under the name of a free trade zone and their respective value(s) from 2018 to the present.

Remember that the Central Bank declared around 41 products to be “Not Valid for Foreign Exchange” in June 2015 since they could have easily been produced in Nigeria as opposed to being imported.

Razor wire and security, wood particle and fiber boards and panels, wooden doors, furniture, toothpicks, glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, vitrified and wooden tiles, textiles, wooden fabrics, polypropylene granules, and cellophane wrappers were all equally impacted.

Later, the apex bank expanded the list of prohibited goods to include fertilizer and corn.

The CBN's move to eliminate the prohibition on the 43 commodities, it was pointed out, represents a significant step toward resolving the nation's currency problem.

The action is a component of the Nigerian government's attempts to increase market stability and liquidity as well as draw in foreign investment to the country's economy, according to the apex bank.

Despite widespread praise for the policy's necessity and good intentions, it has increased pressure on local producers and the value of the local currency, which has had an impact on domestic prices.