President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents(NCMDLCA) Lucky Amiwero has tagged the federal government decision to close its borders in some parts of Nigeria as a terrible decision which has resulted in 40% increase in poverty and hardship in the country.
Speaking after the closing ceremony of a three month capacity training programme for officials and members of the NCMDLCA in Lagos organised by Eyis Resources Limited, Amiwero said the recent border closure between Nigeria and Niger was not necessary.
“The Economy is in shambles, closure of the borders is the worst mistake the federal government could make..
You don’t just close the border because of Coup, the closure is affecting the Country and people are dying due to hunger and poverty.
The action has backfired against us, Niger is moving fine despite the closure of borders, we should reopen the borders for the sake of the people”
When asked for the best solution to tackle the high cost of living, he said;
“The govt needs to open the borders, is it not the president that is Ecowas? Is Ghana having closure? Is Cote divore having closure? The government needs to wake up and reopen the borders” he added.
While reiterating the effect of the border closure, he said;
“The government has lost a lot of money, traders, people by closing the borders between Nigeria and Niger.
The problem here is due to our lack of knowledge, they do things without looking at the law, what they have done is illegal.
The problem we are having is we look at body language, body language is not law, we should use experts in order to run the country”.
Speaking on the training of NCMDLCA members, Amiwero said the training became imperative considering the evolving dynamics of the maritime industry and the need to keep members abreast with the new laws that affect their operation.
The training modules featured topics on the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 with relation to World Trade Organisation(WTO), World Customs Organisation(WCO) and the United Nations Confethe rence on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The course content covered 47 areas of international trade extensively dissecting critical areas like blue economy, advance ruling, authorised economic operator (AEO), special economic zones among others.
He described knowledge of port processes and procedures as an invaluable tool that guides all players in the international trade circle.