No to Customs, NIMASA, FIRS Merger, by Stakeholders
APC Presidential candidate, Tinubu
By Francis Ugwoke
Nigeria is currently in a new regime which most times serves as an opportunity to try new ideas. It is an opportunity for professionals to experiment their own ideas. In some cases, such new ideas could be for good or for selfish interest. This is considering the amount of pressure that party faithful could mount on the arrow heads of the administration to implement changes that may favour them. The latest development is the much-talked about merger of three agencies into one. It is the merger of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) into what shall be known as Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS). The idea is coming from the Presidential Policy Advisory group.
The idea of merger may appear good in some cases as it will save some revenue for the government. But there is an issue here. While both (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) appear to be the same, as they generate revenue for the government, it is not exactly so. The roles are distinct. The FIRS focuses solely on tax collections. The Customs plays the role of trade facilitation from where it collects revenue from shippers and manufacturing firms. This is a different scenario in the case of NIMASA which was set up specifically to regulate shipping on the nation’s territorial waters and promote indigenous shipping development. It was not set up as a revenue generating agency like the FIRS and NCS. However, what NIMASA does that would appear as if it is a revenue generating agency is that it is accorded the right to collect three percent dues from vessels calling at the nation’s ports to be able to carry out administrative purposes as well as indigenous shipping development. NIMASA’s statutory mandate include “maritime safety administration; maritime labour regulation; marine pollution prevention and control; search and rescue; provision of direction and ensuring compliance with vessels security measures; air and coastal surveillance; Cabotage enforcement; ship registration; training and certification of seafarers and marine capacity development”.
In effect, from what NIMASA gets as three percent dues from vessels, it is able to deploy for indigenous shipping such as human capacity development, loans to indigenous shipping companies and administrative costs. As part of this role, NIMASA , then known as National Maritime Authority (NMA) some years ago disbursed funds to some indigenous shipping companies from the Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund (SASBF) to acquire vessels. That was about 23 years ago. Some of the companies defaulted in repayment, a development that led to the suspension of the SASBF. This was what led to the introduction of Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). However, apparently apprehensive over earlier default on SASBF, the federal government has held up the fund until recently when the former administration of Muhammadu Buhari gave its approval for the disbursement of the fund. NIMASA is currently working on the disbursement with five primary lending institutions. From what NIMASA has recorded from the three percent collected from ships, it has over the years continued to contribute some revenue to the federal government. It is this that many have misinterpreted the agency as specifically set up to generate revenue which is not.
On the social and economic side, merging the three agencies will have more devastating effect on the people than good. This is because of the consequences of mass job losses in the exercise. This is in view of the fact that most times, the purpose of merger is to reduce staff strength by more than half. NIMASA has a staff strength of about 2000, Customs has staff strength of about 16,000 while the FIRS also has staff strength of 12,000 personnel. If you merge them, you will be reducing the total workforce by about three times. Such arrangement will further create major problem in the economy as more and more people will lose their jobs. This was what happened during the merger of Joint Maritime Labour Administration (JOMALIC) with the NMA that is now known as NIMASA. So many workers lost their jobs, only those who have long-legs as godfathers were able to have their jobs retained. Others faced the labour market. This will certainly be the case if FIRS, NCS and NIMASA are merged. Again, all the agencies are doing well and can afford to take care of the present staff and even employ more.
To observers, the merger is not necessary. The three agencies can stand separately and still contribute enough revenue to the government if all the loopholes are closed against some unnecessary capital projects. Already, the proposal is beginning to generate tension in some of the agencies with insinuations that it is targeted at some people from a particular section of the country for taking about 90 percent of jobs given in these agencies in the past few years.
But observers believe strongly that the solution is not in trying to merge the agencies as a way of addressing any issue but in rewriting the wrongs in future. For instance, these agencies can decide to balance employment opportunities henceforth. The agencies are super revenue generating agencies that can employ more people and still contribute immensely in terms of revenue to the federal government. Perhaps, the agencies can simply reduce unnecessary capital projects that gulp hundreds of billions of Naira annually. The government should remember that no matter how much revenue an agency generates without job offers this has a lot of consequences on the economy and social welfare of the people. So government should rethink the danger of the merger.
Reacting to the proposal, the League of Maritime Editors (LOME) advised the administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to drop the idea, describing it as “ ill-conceived and misleading to the administration of Tinubu which should not be allowed to see the light of the day”.
Describing the proposal as anti-people, the League added that those behind the idea failed to consider the obvious dire consequences associated with merger which include mass sack of employees of all the agencies involved.
In a statement signed by the President of the League, Chief Timothy Okorocha, Secretary, Mr Felix Kumuyi and the Public Relations Officer, Mr Francis Ugwoke, the League argued that the Customs Service and NIMASA have different statutory roles to play as established by laws setting them up.
According to the statement by League, “ Customs is specifically for trade facilitation at different seaports, airports and border stations from where it collects accruing duties on such goods entering the country or being exported.
“The only statutory obligation being performed by the Customs which is close to that of the FIRS is excise duty collection, adding that this should not be seen as enough to call for the merger.
“In the case of NIMASA, the statement said the agency was set up to regulate the maritime sector in terms of ships using her territorial waters”.
Former Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Ade Dosunmu, also in a statement called against such arrangement, adding that NIMASA is not a revenue generating agency but the apex maritime regulatory agency.
Dosunmu explained, “NIMASA being the Safety Administration of Nigeria has counterparts in 167 Maritime Nations responsible for ensuring safer shipping and cleaner oceans through the instrumentality of the technical mandate it performs viz Port states inspection, Flag states inspection, Search and Rescue, Maritime Capacity Building, Maritime Security by ensuring our waters are safe from Piracy and Sea robbers, Prevention/Control of Marine Pollution, Administers the Training and Certification of Seafarers(STCW ’95), shipping development, coastal and inland shipping (Cabotage) and maritime labour administration. All these functions by NIMASA require technical expertise and can only be performed by a Safety Administration. The same technical functions are performed by Maritime Safety Administration of UK, MCA, US Coast Guard, Safety Administration of Greece, Finland, Cyprus and all other member countries of IMO.
“It is therefore my humble position that emphasis of Government should be on how to strengthen NIMASA to deliver more on its technical mandates and not merging it with agencies that are not compatible with its philosophy and objectives”.
Nigeria is currently in a new regime which most times serves as an opportunity to try new ideas. It is an opportunity for professionals to experiment their own ideas. In some cases, such new ideas could be for good or for selfish interest. This is considering the amount of pressure that party faithful could mount on the arrow heads of the administration to implement changes that may favour them. The latest development is the much-talked about merger of three agencies into one. It is the merger of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) into what shall be known as Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS). The idea is coming from the Presidential Policy Advisory group.
The idea of merger may appear good in some cases as it will save some revenue for the government. But there is an issue here. While both (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) appear to be the same, as they generate revenue for the government, it is not exactly so. The roles are distinct. The FIRS focuses solely on tax collections. The Customs plays the role of trade facilitation from where it collects revenue from shippers and manufacturing firms. This is a different scenario in the case of NIMASA which was set up specifically to regulate shipping on the nation’s territorial waters and promote indigenous shipping development. It was not set up as a revenue generating agency like the FIRS and NCS. However, what NIMASA does that would appear as if it is a revenue generating agency is that it is accorded the right to collect three percent dues from vessels calling at the nation’s ports to be able to carry out administrative purposes as well as indigenous shipping development. NIMASA’s statutory mandate include “maritime safety administration; maritime labour regulation; marine pollution prevention and control; search and rescue; provision of direction and ensuring compliance with vessels security measures; air and coastal surveillance; Cabotage enforcement; ship registration; training and certification of seafarers and marine capacity development”.
In effect, from what NIMASA gets as three percent dues from vessels, it is able to deploy for indigenous shipping such as human capacity development, loans to indigenous shipping companies and administrative costs. As part of this role, NIMASA , then known as National Maritime Authority (NMA) some years ago disbursed funds to some indigenous shipping companies from the Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund (SASBF) to acquire vessels. That was about 23 years ago. Some of the companies defaulted in repayment, a development that led to the suspension of the SASBF. This was what led to the introduction of Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). However, apparently apprehensive over earlier default on SASBF, the federal government has held up the fund until recently when the former administration of Muhammadu Buhari gave its approval for the disbursement of the fund. NIMASA is currently working on the disbursement with five primary lending institutions. From what NIMASA has recorded from the three percent collected from ships, it has over the years continued to contribute some revenue to the federal government. It is this that many have misinterpreted the agency as specifically set up to generate revenue which is not.
On the social and economic side, merging the three agencies will have more devastating effect on the people than good. This is because of the consequences of mass job losses in the exercise. This is in view of the fact that most times, the purpose of merger is to reduce staff strength by more than half. NIMASA has a staff strength of about 2000, Customs has staff strength of about 16,000 while the FIRS also has staff strength of 12,000 personnel. If you merge them, you will be reducing the total workforce by about three times. Such arrangement will further create major problem in the economy as more and more people will lose their jobs. This was what happened during the merger of Joint Maritime Labour Administration (JOMALIC) with the NMA that is now known as NIMASA. So many workers lost their jobs, only those who have long-legs as godfathers were able to have their jobs retained. Others faced the labour market. This will certainly be the case if FIRS, NCS and NIMASA are merged. Again, all the agencies are doing well and can afford to take care of the present staff and even employ more.
To observers, the merger is not necessary. The three agencies can stand separately and still contribute enough revenue to the government if all the loopholes are closed against some unnecessary capital projects. Already, the proposal is beginning to generate tension in some of the agencies with insinuations that it is targeted at some people from a particular section of the country for taking about 90 percent of jobs given in these agencies in the past few years.
But observers believe strongly that the solution is not in trying to merge the agencies as a way of addressing any issue but in rewriting the wrongs in future. For instance, these agencies can decide to balance employment opportunities henceforth. The agencies are super revenue generating agencies that can employ more people and still contribute immensely in terms of revenue to the federal government. Perhaps, the agencies can simply reduce unnecessary capital projects that gulp hundreds of billions of Naira annually. The government should remember that no matter how much revenue an agency generates without job offers this has a lot of consequences on the economy and social welfare of the people. So government should rethink the danger of the merger.
Reacting to the proposal, the League of Maritime Editors (LOME) advised the administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to drop the idea, describing it as “ ill-conceived and misleading to the administration of Tinubu which should not be allowed to see the light of the day”.
Describing the proposal as anti-people, the League added that those behind the idea failed to consider the obvious dire consequences associated with merger which include mass sack of employees of all the agencies involved.
In a statement signed by the President of the League, Chief Timothy Okorocha, Secretary, Mr Felix Kumuyi and the Public Relations Officer, Mr Francis Ugwoke, the League argued that the Customs Service and NIMASA have different statutory roles to play as established by laws setting them up.
According to the statement by League, “ Customs is specifically for trade facilitation at different seaports, airports and border stations from where it collects accruing duties on such goods entering the country or being exported.
“The only statutory obligation being performed by the Customs which is close to that of the FIRS is excise duty collection, adding that this should not be seen as enough to call for the merger.
“In the case of NIMASA, the statement said the agency was set up to regulate the maritime sector in terms of ships using her territorial waters”.
Former Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Ade Dosunmu, also in a statement called against such arrangement, adding that NIMASA is not a revenue generating agency but the apex maritime regulatory agency.
Dosunmu explained, “NIMASA being the Safety Administration of Nigeria has counterparts in 167 Maritime Nations responsible for ensuring safer shipping and cleaner oceans through the instrumentality of the technical mandate it performs viz Port states inspection, Flag states inspection, Search and Rescue, Maritime Capacity Building, Maritime Security by ensuring our waters are safe from Piracy and Sea robbers, Prevention/Control of Marine Pollution, Administers the Training and Certification of Seafarers(STCW ’95), shipping development, coastal and inland shipping (Cabotage) and maritime labour administration. All these functions by NIMASA require technical expertise and can only be performed by a Safety Administration. The same technical functions are performed by Maritime Safety Administration of UK, MCA, US Coast Guard, Safety Administration of Greece, Finland, Cyprus and all other member countries of IMO.
“It is therefore my humble position that emphasis of Government should be on how to strengthen NIMASA to deliver more on its technical mandates and not merging it with agencies that are not compatible with its philosophy and objectives”.
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