The Presidency has said that the Federal Government may close the nation’s land borders again if there is any concern on the activities of the four land borders which were recently reopened.
The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.
Recall that on December 16, 2020, the Federal Government had instructed the immediate reopening of the Seme Border in Lagos State, Illela Border in Sokoto State, Maigatari Border in Jigawa State, and Mfun Border in Cross River State.
In a bid to curb the illegal importation of drugs, arms and ammunition, including agricultural products into the country from neighboring countries, the Federal Government closed the land borders in August 2019.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced after the Federal Executive Council meeting last Wednesday, that the presidential committee set up on the matter had completed its job and had recommended the reopening of the borders to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Zainab said the President had approved the immediate reopening of the four borders while other borders may be reopened before December 31, 2020.
However, speaking on Tuesday, Shehu complained about Nigeria’s neighbors not cooperating with the country to curtail the entry of bandits and small weapons, which he claimed are fueling the insecurity in Nigeria.
He said, “This is why the president considered the closure of the land borders for much of this time until they were reopened a week or so ago.
“This country has been talking to our neighbours, asking them that they cooperate with us in order to stop this influx of bandits, weapons, drugs and trafficking of Nigerian women but the cooperation has not measured up to the expectation of the president.
“This is why he was forced by the necessity of the situation to shut down the borders.
“Now, we are reopening in the hope that the agreement we struck with them, that they will work hand in hand with our own security agencies, with our own customs, on a trial basis, because not all entry points have been reopened. It will be tried, if it works well, then others will be reopened. If there is trouble, then the government may have a rethink.”
“It is the technical committee that will advise the government on how well things are working now that we have reopened four points out of the numerous that we have”.
