President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate reopening of four land borders. The borders to be reopened include; Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfun.
This was announced on the official Twitter account of the Presidency on Wednesday.
This is coming more than a year after Nigeria closed its borders in an attempt to control the smuggling of weapons and drugs from neighboring countries.
The closure of the land borders in August 2019 pushed up prices of staple foods such as rice at markets across the country.
On November 25, 2020, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had hinted that the borders would be reopened soon. She had said the presidential committee set up on the matter had completed its job and had recommended the reopening of the borders to the president.
President Buhari had also stated on December 8, 2020, during a meeting with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, that the country was looking into reopening its land borders “as soon as possible”
In an update on Wednesday, December 16, the Presidency announced that four land borders should be reopened.
