Nigerian Senate calls for the suspension of the ban on car importation

The Senate has called on the Federal Government to suspend action on enforcement of the ban on the importation of vehicles through land borders.

This followed the unanimous adoption of a motion by Sen. Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano), which was co-sponsored by four other senators, at plenary on Wednesday.

The senate also mandated its Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff to investigate the circumstances that led to the ban by the Federal Government.
 Leading debate on the motion earlier, Jibrin said the ban would lead to loss of no fewer than 500, 000 jobs.

According to him, people engaged in the business of vehicle importation and handling services in the border areas are already losing their jobs.

Jibrin said that it was disheartening that such policy would be implemented knowing that it would create hardship, particularly for border villages that depended on the activities to survive.

Contributing, Chairman of Committee on Poverty Alleviation, Sen. Ali Wakili, declared total support for stoppage of the ban.