Bowing to International, regional and local pressures, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday directed the opening of four of the land borders shut about sixteen months ago.
Other land borders, he said, should be opened on December 31, 2020.
The borders for immediate reopening are Seme in Lagos (Southwest), Illela in Sokoto State (Northeast), Maigatari (Northwest) and Mfun (South south).
Ghana, Benin Republic and other countries had appealed to Buhari to reopen the land borders to no avail.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, announced this at the end of the 28th virtual Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.
Persecondnews recalls that Buhari had on December 8, 2020, indicated the readiness of the government to reopen its land borders.
He had hinged the closure of the nation’s land borders on efforts by the government to check the smuggling of weapons and drugs into the country.
Buhari spoke at a security meeting with members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) at the Presidential Villa.
“Now that the message has sunk in with our neighbors, we are looking into reopening the borders as soon as possible,” he said in a statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
Author
Leave a comment