The federal government, on Monday, announced through the Nigeria Customs Service that it had placed a ban on the importation of vehicles through the land borders with effect from January 1, 2017. In a statement issued in Abuja, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) public relations officer, Mr Wale Adeniyi, stated that “the prohibition order covers all new and used vehicles,” and that the ban was sequel to a presidential directive restricting all vehicle imports to Nigeria’s seaports only. “The restriction on the importation of vehicles follows that of rice. The importation of rice through land borders has been banned since April 2016. Importers of vehicles through the land borders are requested to utilise the grace period until December 31, 2016, to clear their vehicle imports landed in neighbouring ports,” Adeniyi said. But Russo in an exclusive chat with our reporter said that the next step for the federal government is to review downward the tariff placed on imported used vehicles through the seaports. The federal government had in 2014 introduced a 35 per cent levy and 35 per cent duty on the importation of used and new vehicles through the land borders. “It is a welcome development and we believe it is a good step in the right direction. We believe the next step should be a downward review of tariff to make vehicles affordable like it used to be,” an elated Russo told our correspondent.]]>