Nigeria Bans Vehicle Import Through Land Borders

From January 1, 2017, importers of all ve­hicles - new and old ones, popularly known as “Tokunbo” - will have major hurdles to cross as the Federal Government has banned their importation through the land borders.
The ban came at a time Nigerians have continued to appeal to the Federal Gov­ernment and the Comptrol­ler-General of the Nigeri­an Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), to lift the ban on the importation of rice via the country’s land borders.
Citing a presidential di­rective on the restriction of vehicle imports to sea ports, the NCS Public Relations Of­ficer, Mr. Wale Adeniji, said on Monday that the ban af­fects all vehicle types – both  new and old.

Many Nigerians rely on used imported vehi­cles from abroad through the land borders because their prices are relatively lower than those from the sea ports.
Some citizens, who reacted to the government’s policy last night, feared that it will raise the cost of vehicles in the country.

Adeniji said: “The impor­tation of vehicles into Nige­ria through the land borders has been banned by the Fed­eral Government. The prohi­bition order covers new and used vehicles.
“The ban is sequel to a presidential directive re­stricting all vehicle imports to Nigerian sea ports only. The order takes effect from 1st January, 2017.
“With the new directive, all vehicle importers have been given between now and December 31, 2016 to clear all their goods that land in neighbouring ports to pre­vent sanctions.
“Importers of vehicles through the land borders are requested to utilise the grace period till 31st De­cember, 2016 to clear their vehicle imports landed in the neighbouring ports”.
He recalled that the re­striction on importation of vehicles follows that of rice, whose imports have been banned through the land borders since April 2016.
Already, despite appeals from various quarters calling for the reversal of the ban on rice imports, especially now that the price has skyrock­eted with many families un­able to buy the staple food, and the fact that the Cus­toms Service has lost many officers confronting smug­glers, the authorities have refused to yield to the calls.
This sends a strong signal to importers that the ban on vehicles should be taken se­riously.