June 22, (THEWILL) – The federal government is considering a request by freight forwarders to re-open the Seme border for vehicle importation.
Director of Road Transport at the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Ibrahim Musa, disclosed this at a meeting between officials from Nigeria and Benin hosted by the Economic Community of West African States in Seme.
Musa explained that during his last visit to the border, freight forwarders petitioned the former Minister of State for Transportation to reactivate the border for vehicle importation.
He said based on the request, the Federal government prepared a memo and sent to the Federal Executive Council for consideration.
According to the director, the FEC promised to leave the approval to the new government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“I was here with the former Minister of State for Transportation and the freight forwarders pleaded that the border should be reactivated for free movement of goods and services. The minister made us prepare a memo to that effect. It was considered and sent to the government”, he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Customs Area Controller in charge of Seme Command, Dera Nnadi, said the service had noticed a reduction in its revenue since the importation of vehicles was banned from the land borders.
“The Honorable Minister of Transportation, the immediate past one, responding to some of our requests and from the stakeholders, promised to take them to the Federal Executive Council; one of them is how to fully open this border”, he said.
Nnadi also said illegal checkpoints along the border corridors have been dismantled by customs, while the Border Control unit of the Nigerian Police Force has promised to do the same.
He urged the Federal Government to complete the highway from Lagos to Seme Border, adding that the completion would grow trade and investment in the Abidjan-Lagos corridor.
Nnadi, who is also a Co-chair of the Joint Border Post said, “Abidjan-Lagos Corridor is an important corridor for trade among West African countries, a melting point where our people share culture and religion. It is a very important place where we maintain relationships and peace with ourselves. It is important to keep the corridor alive. We appreciate ECOWAS for its contribution to the growth of business in the corridor. While appreciating the Federal Ministry of Transportation for the ongoing rehabilitation of the highway, if the road is complete, it will improve trade.”
