Border Closure: FG gives conditions for re-opening land borders

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The Federal Government has listed four conditions for reopening of the country’s land borders for goods importation from neighbouring countries.

Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Foreign Affair, made this known on Monday in Abuja while briefing newsmen following an Inter-Ministerial meeting Preparatory to the Tripartite Anti-Smuggling Committee Meeting of Nigeria, Benin and Niger.

  1. Goods imported into an ECOWAS member state from outside the ECOWAS zone and destined for Nigeria must be escorted directly to the Nigeria border entry point and the original packaging must be maintained.
  2. Rules-of-origin must be strictly adhered to in the framework of the Economic Trade Liberalization Scheme, with a minimum of 50% local content.
  3. All warehouses along land borders must be dismantled.
  4. Every person coming to Nigeria through a land border must present a recognized passport.

As much as the ongoing border restrictions have been presented primarily or even exclusively as a RICE conversation – it’s really much more than that. It’s more about enforcing compliance with existing trade rules; about discouraging state-endorsed flouting of rules plus agreements.