· The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) may start soon collection of import duty with the recently launched digital currency, e-naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
· The National Deputy Public Relations Officer of Customs, Timi Bomodi, informed the media that e-naira will be acceptable to the Nigeria Customs Service if payments are routed through authorised dealer banks and confirmed.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) may start soon collection of import duty with the recently launched digital currency, e-naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The National Deputy Public Relations Officer of Customs, Timi Bomodi, informed the media that e-naira will be acceptable to the Nigeria Customs Service if payments are routed through authorised dealer banks and confirmed.
Stakeholders in the maritime industry were not enthusiastic about the digital currency and felt that it may not have significant impact on the sector. The immediate past Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yussu also expressed the same view and added that while transactions on existing platforms are already in trillions of Naira, he did not see any additional value that the e-naira can bring. He pointed out that the naira, whether digital or physical, has the same function as a means of exchange ad may unfold its benefits in due course. The issue of security and the pace of adoption given the literacy level and the huge size of the informal economy were two critical factors for the e-naira.
The National Secretary Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Babatunde Mukaila, was confident that that the e-naira will impact positively on the industry, by reducing human contacts curbing unnecessary corruption at the ports. Nigeria is keeping pace with the global trends now in e-commerce, he added.
