closure

Border Closure Targetted At Criminals, Not Countries

October 17, 2019 8:38 am

Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister Geoffrey Onyeama on Thursday said the temporary closure of the country’s borders was not targetted at any countries but to curb criminal activities.

“No country is targeted,” Onyeama told journalists after a meeting with Ghana’s foreign minister Shirley Botchwey in Abuja.

“We are within ECOWAS, we respect the ECOWAS rules, free movement of persons, and goods and that should continue.”

In August, Nigeria shut its land borders to neighbouring African countries.

President Muhammadu Buhari explained that the border closure was aimed at taming the ‘massive’ smuggling activities, especially of rice, taking place on that corridor.

Emphasizing …

Border Closure Exposes Nigeria’s Flaw In Rice Production

October 12, 2019 6:23 pm

A Pan-Africa non-governmental organisation (NGO), Feed Africa Advocacy Network (FAAN) has declared that the recent border closure by the federal government which has triggered an astronomical increase in the prices of some food like rice has exposed the reality that Nigeria is far from meeting domestic needs.

The closure has led to a sharp increase in the prices of some major foods, including rice, questioning official claim that the country is self-sufficient in rice production.
A 50-kilogram bag of local UMZA rice goes for about ₦19,500 against ₦14,000-₦15,000 before the border closure while another local brand, Big Bull sells for …

Closure Of Borders; Prices Of Rice, Frozen Chicken Soar

October 7, 2019 12:36 pm

The closure of the country’s borders seems to have led to an increase in prices of some food items such as rice, frozen chicken and turkey.

Observers say if the borders are not opened before December, it portends a bleak Christmas for many Nigerians, given the astronomical rise in the prices of both the local and imported rice.

Investigations by our correspondents in major markets in Lagos showed the prices of some of the items had increased between 42 per cent and 100 per cent from August when the borders were closed to the last week of September.

At Ile …

2019 Polls: NIS Orders closure of borders from Friday Noon

February 14, 2019 11:52 am

Ahead of Saturday’s general election, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has ordered the closure of all borders by Friday, 12pm.

In a statement issued by the service public relations officer, Sunday James, and signed by the Comptroller General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, the borders will be opened by Sunday, 12 noon.

It stated that:”The federal government of Nigeria has directed that the nation’s land borders be closed from 12noon of Friday the 15th February, 2019 to 12noon of Sunday the 17th February, 2019.

“This is to secure and control movements across the borders within the period of the elections. The …