It appears the Federal Government has lifted the ban on importation of vehicles through land borders.
This is coming as the Director of Road Transport, Ministry of Transportation, Ibrahim Musa, disclosed that the Federal Government has approved the re-opening of Seme border for the importation of vehicles.
He announced this at the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS’ meeting organised between officials of Nigeria and Benin, noting that the move is expected to revitalize economic activities within the corridor.
The Director said the development followed complaints by freight forwarders operating at the border.
Musa, who spoke during the ECOWAS Monitoring Team’s visit to Seme-Krake Joint Border Post, said, “I was here with the former Minister of State for Transportation when the freight forwarders pleaded that the border should be reactivated for the free movement of goods and services.
“The former minister made us prepare a memo to that effect. It was considered and sent to the government.”
Commenting on the development, the Customs Area Controller of Seme Border Command, Dera Nnadi, noted that the Service has noticed a reduction in its revenue since the importation of vehicles was banned from the land borders.
The Buhari-led administration had closed land borders between Nigeria and Cotonou, Benin Republic, and subsequently banned the importation of vehicles through land.