The Senate has called on the Nigerian Customs Service to halt the ban on the importation of vehicles through the land borders at its plenary session of Wednesday, January 11th 2017. According to the sponsor of the motion, Sen. Barau Jibrin (APC: Kano North), the decision by the Nigerian Customs Service was not economically expedient given the ramification of such a policy on the economy.

While leading the debate on the motion, Sen. Jibrin explained that the statement by the Nigerian Customs Service to implement the policy on grounds that land borders no longer hold good prospects for revenue generation because of the large-scale evasion of import duties was not valid. He also noted that rather than a complete ban as envisaged by the new policy, the importation of vehicles through one entry border post in each geo-political zone that has an international land border should be considered as it would allow for better monitoring and control by the Customs Service. Sen. Barau further expressed worry that the reported ban would lead to the loss of jobs by individuals engaged in the business of vehicle importation and handling services in the border areas around the country.

The motion which was unanimously adopted also resolved to mandate the Senate Committee on Customs to investigate the circumstances that led to the sudden decision of the Federal Government to issue such a policy.Other co-sponsors of the motion include Sen. Kabiru Gaya (APC: Kano South), Sen. Shehu Sani (APC: Kaduna Central), Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC: Niger North) and Sen. Ali Wakil (APC: Bauchi South).