Senate rejects ban on vehicle importation by land

A welcome ban on land border car importation

The Senate, on Wednesday, unanimously rejected the Federal  Government’s ban on the importation of vehicles through the land  borders in the country. It described the policy as ‘anti-people and  meant to further impoverish Nigerians.’
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, specifically  urged President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to the cries of Nigerians  and rescind the decision.
Ekweremadu noted: “From the contributions made, it is obvious that the  policy is unpopular. We are representatives of the people and the  people have spoken through us that they do not want this policy. I  think those in government should listen to them.”
Adopting two of the three prayers, the Senate called on the Customs  Service to immediately suspend further action on its policy of an  outright ban on the importation of vehicles through our land borders  as from 1st January, 2017.
The Senate Committee on Customs and Excise was mandated to investigate  the circumstances that led to the sudden decision of the Federal  Government on the issue of the importation of vehicles through the  land borders.
Sponsor of the motion, Senator Barau Jibrin from Kano State, explained  that the ban would lead to the loss of about 500,000 jobs by the  people engaged in the business of vehicle importation and handling  services in the border areas and around the country.