Mr Peter Obi, Presidential candidate and leader of the Labour Party, LP, has urged the Federal Government to end the inconsistency in import duty charges by the Nigeria Customs Service.

Obi revealed this in a statement through his verified X (Formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.

According to him, inconsistency in import duty charges is affecting the whole business environment in Nigeria.

The LP leader cautioned that if these circumstances are not amended, importers in the country may resort to using the ports of our neighboring countries, a situation that he noted will leave the Nigerian ports fruitless, and make the economy into a sorry situation as a result of loss of income.

Obi called on the federal government to end the arbitrary and increasing customs duties as it is now negatively impacting businesses and the cost of items, and this illustrates a great danger to the economy.

He said when the goods eventually arrive in the country, and duties are calculated at different rates, like N1400 to $1, it becomes a serious business challenge that results in business failure. Also, It instantly powers the inflationary spike which is the root of the increasing price of products and living. 

According to him, such erratic charges will lead to further shutdown of businesses, and attendant job losses. This is because at the time of the initiation of the business, calculations, including duties, have been made based on the prevailing exchange rate, and the prevailing market prices.