Nigeria is planning to reopen its land border to allow neighbouring countries to transport their goods into the country by road.
Afriupdate understands that the border has been under closure for almost a year after President Muhammadu Buhari accused neighbouring countries of doing little to prevent smuggling of goods.
According to Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, the border will be reopened soon as Nigeria is discussing with its neighbouring countries on how business activities can resume at the land border without smuggling which President Buhari said has affected Nigeria’s economy.
Buhari said Nigeria has lost revenue to the smugglers, and it’s affecting farmers and other traders operating within the country. He blamed the countries for not taming smugglers who are operating free around Nigeria’s border. While speaking about a possible reopening, Osinbajo said the government is working on it.
He made this known during a webinar organized by The Africa Report. However, Osinbajo didn’t give a timeframe for the reopening, “We are working with our neighbours to see on what terms we would reopen those borders.
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“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,” Osinbajo said
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