Nigeria lost N65.23bn to waivers in 24 months – FG

Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr.Akinwumi Adesina

The Federal Government has said that the country lost  N65.23bn to waivers within the last 24 months.

The figure and the names of the organisations that benefitted from the waivers were released on Sunday, in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The waivers were given to the companies for the importation of machine, plants and equipment, spare-part accessories, power transformers and electrical materials among others.

The release of the figure was in reaction to The PUNCH’s editorial which was published on November 25, 2013 on abuse of waivers by companies.

The paper had in the editorial detailed how successive Nigerian governments had abused the use of the economic incentives instrument to the detriment of the nation.

Citing figures from the Nigerian Customs Service, the paper had written that in 2003, N12.4bn was lost to waivers; N55bn in 2004; N71.24bn in 2005; N54.59bn in 2007; and N9.51bn in the first three months of 2008.

The NCS, the organised private sector and other stakeholders have always insisted that waivers have ended up in the hands of the undeserving.

For instance, while the customs have complained to the National Assembly that these waivers were sometimes used to import consumables instead of equipment; the Coalition of Oil Palm Value Chain Associations had complained to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adeshina,  earlier this year how waivers for the importation of palm oil were crippling the domestic industry.

While the paper had given a qualified endorsement to the use of waivers, it disagreed with the finance ministry’s argument that the fraud-driven policy in place now was of lasting benefit to the economy.

But the ministry in an attempt to defend the policy said on Sunday that the objective of waiver which was reviewed and strengthened in 2011 was to curb abuses and inefficiencies of the previous regime.

It said, “The objective of the waiver policy, the implementation of which was reviewed and strengthened in late 2011 is to curb the abuses and inefficiencies  of the previous regime.

“There is clear evidence that it is working to boost key sectors of the economy. Against this background, the dismissal of government’s efforts to reform a waiver policy which created an uneven playing field is astonishing.”

A breakdown of the N65.23bn waiver granted between 2012 and 2013 showed that Shell Petroluem Development Company got a waiver of N16.295bn while Niger Delta Power Holding Company got N15.122bn.

Other beneficiaries are the Federal Ministry of Health, N4.9bn; Rivers State Ministry of Power, N3.76bn; Federal Ministry of Power N4.17bn; Geometric Power Ltd N1.3bn; and Netco Dietsmann Company Ltd which got N6.63bn.

Similarly, Cocoa Association of Nigeria got N1.33bn as waivers; Olam Nigeria Ltd. N1.13bn; River State Government, N2.08bn; Clinton Health Access Initiative, N1.19bn; among others.