FG to reopen land borders soon — Osinbajo

THERE are indications that Nigeria may soon reopen land borders closed since 2019 by the Federal Government over worrisome smuggling of food items into the country.

The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, hinted at this on Saturday during a virtual meeting with The Africa Report.

Responding to a question on the continued closure of the land borders, especially at a time the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is being prepped for take-off, the vice president said that the government was working with neighbouring countries on the terms of reopening the border.

Osinbajo, who spoke during a webinar organised by The Africa Report, on the theme, ‘Bouncing back: Nigeria’s post-pandemic recovery plan’, stated: “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’m sure that soon enough we should have the borders opened.

“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.”