The President, Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reopening of four major land borders in Nigeria.
Zainab Ahmed – the Minister of Finance had announced the reopening of these borders, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which held on Wednesday.
The borders which are Seme in the south-west part of the country, Ilela in the north-west part of the country, Maitagari in the north-west part of the country and Mfun in the south-south part of the country will be opened immediately while other borders will be reopened before the end of the year.
The Minister also added that the ban on importation of rice, poultry and other banned products will subsist as directed by the President.
“I am here to just report that His Excellency, the President, approved the recommendations of the committee that I chaired with the Minister of Trade and Investment as member, Minister of Interior as member, Minister of Foreign Affairs as member, National Security Adviser as member and Comptroller General of Customs.
“This committee was mandated to review and advise on the reopening of the Nigerian borders and after recommendations, the president approved the reopening of four land borders, namely: Seme in the South-west part of the country, Ilela in the North-west part of the country, Maitagari in the North-west part of the country and Mfun in the South-south part of the country.
“So, these four land land borders will be reopened immediately while the remaining borders are directed to be reopened on or before 31st of December, 2020. Mr. President has also directed on the reopening of the borders that while others are being reopened, the ban on importation of rice, poultry and other banned products still subsists and will be implemented by border patrol team,” she said.
The Minister also stated that a report on the assessment of gains of the border closure is yet to be submitted to the President.
She also spoke on the border closure policy – which has led to the reduction of rice-smuggling and checkmated the illegal importation of small arms and weapons into the country. She added that the policy had also stopped the smuggling of petroleum products to other West African countries.
