Osinbajo: We will soon reopen the land borders

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the federal government will soon reopen Nigeria’s land borders.

In October 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the closure of land borders to check smuggling goods and arms into the country after a partial closure of the Seme border in August 2019.

Speaking during a webinar organised by The Africa Report on Thursday, Osinbajo said the federal government is working towards reopening the borders.

The webinar, which was themed ‘Bouncing back: Nigeria’s post-pandemic recovery plan’, focused on issues regarding government frameworks to be adopted towards economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic which affected countries globally.

Reacting to a question on the continued closure of the land borders despite preparations for the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the vice president said the government is working with neighbouring countries on the terms of reopening the border.

“We are working with our neighbours to see on what terms we would reopen those borders. At the moment, we are undertaking joint border patrols to control smuggling along the borders and we think it is working and I am sure that soon enough we should have the borders opened,” he said.

“We are committed to the AfCFTA but we are concerned about threats to security and the economy and we had to take certain actions that would satisfy the immediate needs of our country. It (border closure) certainly wasn’t meant to be permanent and we are looking forward to reopening as quickly as possible.” (Agency report)