Daily Watch – Import Export developments, Boko Haram kicks

The Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service recorded ₦40.6 billion as Total Free on Board value for the exports it processed in 2019. This includes agricultural products, such as sesame seeds, cocoa, and processed wood, the Customs Area Controller of the command, Mohammed Abba-Kura has said. He said there was an improvement in port users’ level of compliance as the command recorded successes in the fight against smuggling with the seizure of 112 containers of various cargoes. The majority of the consignment seized were drugs there were contraband and others not registered by NAFDAC. On the impact of ongoing partial border closure on port activities, Abba-Kura said there are lots of advantages because some of Nigeria’s neighbours were not following the best practices in international trade. According to him, anything coming from that side to Nigeria is transit cargo. Hence, such goods or consignments as transit must meet up with the standard, including being in a container, have a seal which must be the original on the manifest and on the bill of laden.

Nigeria spent ₦1.08 trillion to import used cars and motorcycles in one year; October 2018 – September 2019, into the country, data from the National Bureau of Statistics has shown. The various reports from the statistics office stated that used cars and motorcycle importation into Nigeria rose from ₦252.3 billion in Q4 2018 to ₦301.8 billion in Q3 2019. Breakdown of the report showed that Nigeria remains a large import-dependent country, as the country’s import bill between October 2018 and September 2019 rose to ₦15.19 trillion while the country’s export for the same period stood at ₦18.87 trillion. This indicates that Nigeria’s trade balance summed up to be ₦3.68 trillion. ₦676.3 billion was spent on the importation of used cars during the period while the amount spent on motorbike importation stood at ₦411.3 billion. The importation of both items then accounted for 7 percent of the country’s total import. Reports have shown that most motorbikes imported into the country are completely Knocked Down and are fully assembled by the end-user or the re-seller. The goods are shipped in CKD form to reduce freight charges on the basis of the space occupied by the volume of the item. Imported used cars, on the other hand, are either with diesel or semi-diesel engine, of cylinder capacity. The cars came from countries like the United States, Italy, Belgium, Germany and Canada while motorcycles imported into Nigeria are basically from India and China

At least 30 people were killed in Borno state after an improvised explosive device detonated on a bridge. This is coming a week after the Nigerian Government said it will gradually withdraw military operations in some volatile spots in the country beginning from the first quarter of 2020. The bomb, sources told Reuters on Monday detonated at roughly 1700 hours on a crowded bridge in the market town of Gamboru that leads into neighbouring Cameroon. More than 35 people, an eyewitness, Modu Ali said were injured and taken to the local hospital following the attack. Two sources with the Civilian Joint Task Force confirmed the attack and the early death toll estimates. Both Boko Haram and the regional offshoot of Islamic State, known as ISWAP, are active in the area. But no group at the time of report took the responsibility of the bombing.

Banking institutions in Nigeria spent a total of ₦5.5 billion on adverts last year, an analysis by P+ Measurement Services, a media intelligence and audit agency and MediaTrak has shown. According to the report, which focused on 21 commercial banks in the country, the majority of the adverts were disseminated through radio stations due to their low cost. Out of the total 95,182 media advert placements analysed, 65,448 of them were placed on radio stations across while 24,823 adverts were aired on television, and the newspapers published 4,911 adverts. It was noted that a total of ₦388.7 million was paid for the radio adverts, lower than ₦1.96 billion expended on television adverts. The sum of ₦3.16 billion was used to place adverts in newspapers. The report said that CNN was the most preferred outlet for media adverts by banks; Wazobia 95.1 FM in Lagos was the most selected platform for radio; while ThisDay Newspapers had the largest share of media adverts placed in newspapers.