News:
April 26, 2021
A member of Ghana’s delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Mahama Ayariga has indicated that, Nigeria’s unilateral decision to close its land borders would be revisited next month in Abuja when lawmakers converge for their May Session.
According to him the issue would be revisited as to why Nigeria closed its borders to the rest of the sub-region. “It would come up strongly, we have our next Session in Abuja Nigeria”, he said in an interview.
Community lawmakers before the end of the lifespan of the fourth Legislature, expressed strong reservation as to why Nigeria had closed its borders with Benin Republic and Niger, despite the fact that ECOWAS was preaching free movement of people, goods and services.
But the Nigerian delegation’s defense was that, rice was being smuggled into their country killing the industry, and at the same time, weapons were being illegally smuggled into the country.
Before the official closure of land borders within the sub-region, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria took a unilateral decisions to close its borders, and Mahama Ayariga in a July interview last year noted that the decision was not the best.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com