Buhari orders immediate opening of 4 land borders

- The closure of Nigeria's land border has finally become a thing of the past

- This is as President Buhari directed that four borders be opened immediately

- Bashir Ahmad, the president's personal assistant on new media made the disclosure

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!

More than a year after the federal government closed the Nigerian border, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered four land borders to be immediately opened.

This was disclosed in a tweet by Bashir Ahmad, a personal assistant on new media to the president, via his verified Twitter handle, @BashirAhmaad.

According to the presidential aide, the borders to be opened include Seme, Illela, Maigatari, and Mfun.

The Nigerian leader who gave the directive on Wednesday, December 16, noted that other land borders will be reopened by December 31.

The federal government back in August 2019, closed the borders to curtail illegal importation of dr*gs, small arms, and agricultural products into the country from neighbouring West African nations.

Read also

Senate takes important step over Katsina schoolboys abduction, sends another key message to Buhari

The announcement is coming weeks after the Nigerian government had first hinted at the reopening of the borders.

The minister of finance, budget, and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Wednesday, November 25, revealed this while speaking to State House correspondents.

According to Ahmed, the presidential committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari on the issue has recommended the reopening of the borders.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that President Buhari had dismissed any expectation that Nigeria's land borders would be reopened anytime soon.

Buhari had urged Nigerians to consume what is produced locally because his administration is not ready to reopen the land borders.

The president who was represented by the ministry minister of agriculture, Mohammed Sabo Nanono, said the federal government was ready to empower farmers to boost local production and perhaps, exports.

Read also

Nigerian elites responsible for what Nigeria is and what it can become, says Buhari

In a related development, the federal government of Nigeria on Monday, November 4, 2019, said that until member nations of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) respect rules of origin, it will not reopen its land borders.

This is as Godfrey Onyema, the minister of foreign affairs, said that all goods exported into Nigeria from ECOWAS countries must have not less than 30% local inputs.

Onyeama added that such goods must be escorted directly from the port of member nations directly to Nigerian borders.

Border closure: Nigerians now prefer eba to rice – traders lament | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng