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The Federal Government on Wednesday has said that the country’s land borders may be reopened soon as the presidential committee set up on the matter has completed its job.
According to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who has given a clear hint that the country’s land borders, may be reopened soon.
The borders that have been closed since August 2019.
But speaking to State House correspondents on Wednesday, Ahmed said the presidential committee set up on the matter has completed its job and has recommended its reopening.
She said the committee would soon submit its report to President Muhammadu Buhari, following which a formal pronouncement would be made on the matter.
Ahmed however did not reveal when the report will be submitted and how soon the land borders will be reopened.
Nigeria closed its land borders last year, in a bid to curtail illegal importation of drugs, small arms and agricultural products into the country from neighbouring West African nations.
During a session at the ongoing summit of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Ahmed had explained that Buhari set up a committee to assess the situation with other countries.
According to the minister, all members of the committee recommended that the borders be reopened.
“We have made an assessment, the president set up a committee to carry out an assessment and all the members of the committee recommended to the president that it is time to open the borders,” she had said.
“The objectives have been met in the sense that we have been able to work with our partners in a tripartite committee and reinforce the sanctity of the commitment that we made to one another so each side has learnt its lesson.
“Nigeria has been affected as well as our partners in terms of businesses so we will be expecting that the border will reopen very soon. The date will be decided by the president.”
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