FG Gives Update On Re-opening Land Borders With Benin And Niger Republic

The federal government of Nigeria, on Tuesday, disclosed that discussions and negotiations are ongoing regarding the reopening of land borders with the Benin Republic and Niger Republic.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this to newsmen after the inauguration of the National Single Window Project at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

According to him, high-level discussions are ongoing between the countries to ensure that issues that led to the initial closure of the borders don’t repeat themselves if the borders are re-opened.

“Regarding opening the land borders, consultations are already in progress, some of them are at very high level. Over the last weekend, I interacted with my colleagues in Benin Republic. Earlier, I went to our borders with the Niger Republic.

“We are looking at the issues that led to the closure of the border in the first instance and we are working to ensure that those things do not repeat themselves and I’m happy to say that we are making steady progress,” Adeniyi told reporters.

He added that the Customs would “continue to consult” and “take guidance” from President Bola Tinubu, adding that “everything is to ensure that we have borders that are secured and hopefully with the deployment of Single Window at our ports and border stations, our borders will be more secured and we’re going to run them more efficiently.”

Naija News recalls the borders were closed in 2019 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari which the government claimed was part of efforts to encourage local food production and to curb smuggling and associated corruption.