There are indications that Nigeria’s land borders, which have been closed since August 2019, may be re-opened soon.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, gave the hint during an interview with State House correspondents on Wednesday.
According to Ahmed, the presidential committee set up on the matter has completed its job and has recommended the reopening of the borders.
She said: “The committee will soon submit its report to the President Muhammadu Buhari, following which a formal pronouncement will be made on the matter.”
The minister did not, however, disclose when the report would be submitted and how soon the land border will be reopened.
Also while speaking during a webinar organised by The Africa Report, the nation’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, confirmed that government may reopen the land borders soon.
The webinar, which was themed ‘Bouncing back: Nigeria’s post-pandemic recovery plan’, focused on issues regarding government frameworks to be adopted towards economic recovery following the Coronavirus pandemic, which affected countries globally.
Reacting to a question on the continued closure of the land borders despite preparations for the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the Vice President said the government was working with neighbouring countries on the terms of reopening the border.
He said, “We are working with our neighbours to see on what terms we would reopen those borders. At the moment, we are undertaking joint border patrols to control smuggling along the borders and we think it is working and I am sure that soon enough we should have the borders opened.
“We are committed to the AfCFTA but we are concerned about threats to security and the economy and we had to take certain actions that would satisfy the immediate needs of our country. It (border closure) certainly wasn’t meant to be permanent and we are looking forward to reopening as quickly as possible.”
It would be recalled that Nigeria, in august 2019 closed its land borders to curtail illegal importation of drugs, small arms and agricultural products into the country from neighboring West African nations.
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