BEVERLY HILLS, September 28, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government may reopen its land borders soon. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo made this known during a webinar organised by The Africa Report,
“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’m sure that soon enough we should have the borders opened”, Osibanjo said
The Vice-President, who reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), however said that the Government is “concerned about threats to security and the economy” and had to take certain actions that would satisfy the “immediate needs of our country. It certainly wasn’t meant to be permanent and we are looking forward to reopening as quickly as possible”, he added.
President Buhari had in October 2019, ordered closure of Nigeria’s land borders to check the menace of smuggling of goods, arms and ammunition into the country.
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The closure has however, generated mixed reactions from neigbouring countries, especially, Ghana and Benin Republic