Post by Trade facilitator on Nov 14, 2019 15:36:54 GMT 1
During a recent press briefing in Abuja, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, along with members of the Inter-ministerial Committee on the temporary partial closure of land borders listed conditions to reopen the country’s borders to neighboring countries for transactions.
According to the Minister, “Under the directive of Mr. President regarding the border, measures have been taken, the border drill that has been taken by Nigeria and of course the drill to be taken place on our borders should be addressed as quickly as possible.”
Onyeama said that within the next two weeks, a tripartite Committee would be conveyed and hosted in Nigeria with delegations and committees from Benin Republic, and Niger.
He added that each country would be represented by their Heads of the ministry of foreign affairs, the Internal finance, the Customs, Immigration and NIA, and the security segment.
The conditions listed by the Minister are:
1. Any imports coming through the land borders when those imports transit in groups, when they are coming outside the ECOWAS region and into an ECOWAS member state, those goods should retain their original packaging, there should be no modification or whatsoever to that packaging of those goods.
2. The goods coming into Nigeria must be accompanied by the customs from the ports directly to the entry points of the Nigeria border.
3. All persons coming to Nigeria from land borders must present themselves at recognized entry points and must have recognized travel documents.
4. All warehouses along the shared borders of Nigeria must be dismantled.
Since the closure of land borders by the Federal Government in August, it has generated a lot of controversies with many stakeholders saying the move violates Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
According to the Minister, “Under the directive of Mr. President regarding the border, measures have been taken, the border drill that has been taken by Nigeria and of course the drill to be taken place on our borders should be addressed as quickly as possible.”
Onyeama said that within the next two weeks, a tripartite Committee would be conveyed and hosted in Nigeria with delegations and committees from Benin Republic, and Niger.
He added that each country would be represented by their Heads of the ministry of foreign affairs, the Internal finance, the Customs, Immigration and NIA, and the security segment.
The conditions listed by the Minister are:
1. Any imports coming through the land borders when those imports transit in groups, when they are coming outside the ECOWAS region and into an ECOWAS member state, those goods should retain their original packaging, there should be no modification or whatsoever to that packaging of those goods.
2. The goods coming into Nigeria must be accompanied by the customs from the ports directly to the entry points of the Nigeria border.
3. All persons coming to Nigeria from land borders must present themselves at recognized entry points and must have recognized travel documents.
4. All warehouses along the shared borders of Nigeria must be dismantled.
Since the closure of land borders by the Federal Government in August, it has generated a lot of controversies with many stakeholders saying the move violates Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
