Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has said that the closure of all land borders manned by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other security agencies would not “last forever.”
This was coming as the Comptroller-General of NCS, Hameed Ali, on Monday, said goods worth N1.4 billion had been seized since the federal government partially close the country’s land borders on August 20 to tame the activities of smugglers as well as enforce compliance to anti-dumping practices by its neighbours.
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The Finance Minister said discussions were currently ongoing between the government of Nigeria and the Republic of Benin on the need to comply with the various trade agreements signed by both countries but which had been reportedly subjected to abuses.
The minister said though the closure had so far recorded positive outcomes for the economy, the borders would be reopened as soon as there is compliance to the treaties signed by the neighbouring countries.
President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Ahmed Mansur, had insisted that the continued closure of the borders could in the long run hurt the private sector as there appeared to be no end in sight.