Border closure: Why January 31st isn’t sacrosanct – Ali

The January 31, 2020, given as likely date for the reopening of the nation’s borders is not sacrosanct.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Colonel Hameed Ali( rtd) made the clarification on Monday in Abuja at the Third Inter-Ministerial meeting ahead of the Tripartite Anti-Smuggling Committee meeting to be held between Nigeria, Benin and Niger Republics.

In attendance were Colonel Ali, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the host and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, among others.

The Comptroller-General of Customs said the date could be extended if the nation’s neighbours failed to meet conditions set by Nigeria.

He said: “The issue of 31st January is an operational programme. What we do in operations like this is that you set time for logistics and other tactical requirements.

“So, the issue of 31st January is not a terminal date. If all these things are put together and we reach an agreement, we could even relax all these things before the 31st of January. So, it is not sacrosanct, but it is not a terminal date. We can also surpass January 31st and still hold on to what we are doing.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, however, maintained that member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), must abide by conditions set by Nigeria.

According to him: “One of the conditions was that goods imported primarily for the Nigerian market must be escorted directly from the port of member states directly into the Nigerian borders.”