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Tag: Border closure

  • Chile, Guatemala join Latin American neighbours in closing borders

    Chile, Guatemala join Latin American neighbours in closing borders

    Chile and Guatemala have announced that they would join a number of other Latin American countries in closing their borders for a period of 15 days in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus across the continent.

    Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said on Monday that the border closures would go into effect on Wednesday.

    Chilean nationals entering the country would be subjected to a 14-day quarantine, he said, adding that the measure would in no way affect the import and export of goods.

    The announcement coincided with confirmation from Chile’s Health Ministry that the number of coronavirus in the country had risen to 155.

    Guatemala imposed a similar measure on Monday, with President Alejandro Giammattei saying that “only Guatemalans will be able to enter, [but they] must go through a period of quarantine.”

    “The entry of cargo will be allowed,” he said.

    Giammattei justified the decision by saying that six more people had tested positive for the virus, taking the overall toll in the country to seven.

    The first patient who was diagnosed has died.

    Colombia will also close its land, maritime and river borders at midnight (0500 GMT) on Tuesday until May 30.

    President Ivan Duque announced the measure on Twitter, saying it would “restrict the entry and exit of the country for all national and foreign citizens” but later said the transportation of cargo will be allowed.

    The news comes after Argentina, Peru, Panama, and Honduras announced border closures over the weekend.

    El Salvador became the first country to seal off borders last week.

    Venezuela has introduced a nationwide quarantine after the total number of cases rose to 33.

    Venezuela’s health care system is severely compromised by an economic meltdown that has caused millions of people to flee the country.

    The virus has reached all Latin American countries except El Salvador, Nicaragua and Haiti, which has closed its 380-kilometre border with the Dominican Republic.

    There are no confirmed cases in Belize, which borders Mexico and Guatemala but is not considered part of Latin America.

    Eight South American countries that form part of the regional alliance PROSUR have coordinated their response to the novel coronavirus, Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno said on Monday.

    Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru, and Guyana – which all have confirmed cases – have agreed to “unify measures for the entry of people into each country,” Moreno wrote on Twitter.

    He added that the countries would “undertake campaigns to deal with disinformation, biased messages and #FakeNews” and “establish joint purchasing protocols to avoid price speculation.”

    PROSUR was formed last year as an alternative to UNASUR, founded in 2008 on the initiative of Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan head of state Hugo Chavez.

    Also on Monday, Ecuador’s government shut down access to the Galapagos Marine Reserve – which covers an area of around 133,000 square kilometres – in order to prevent the arrival of the virus.

    The indefinite measure is “necessary to protect the health of visitors, officials and local communities that inhabit these areas,” the Environment Ministry said in a statement.

    The area, which has UNESCO World Heritage Site status, and its surrounding waters represent one of the world’s richest areas of biodiversity.

    Ecuador has confirmed 58 cases of the coronavirus on its territory, with two people having succumbed to the illness.

    In another development, the Cuban government granted the MS Braemar – a cruise ship carrying at least five coronavirus patients – permission to dock after it was turned away several days ago in Barbados and the Bahamas.

    Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, the British company that owns the ship, said that “flights back to the UK will be operated by British Airways and will leave Cuba on Wednesday 18th March.”

    Five people on board tested positive for the coronavirus while docked in the island of Curacao.

    At least 20 other passengers and 20 members of the crew have been placed in isolation after displaying flu-like symptoms. (dpa/NAN)

  • Mixed reactions continue to trail border closure

    Mixed reactions continue to trail border closure

    Stakeholders in the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have continued to express mix reactions to the continued partial border closure by the Federal government.

    The stakeholders made their views known at the Stakeholders’ Forum on  border closure organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry(LCCI) on Tuesday in Lagos.
    On Aug. 20, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the closure of Nigeria’s land borders with her neighbours to curtail smuggling and strengthen internal security.
    Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, while speaking on the impact of the border closure, lauded the Nigeria Customs Service on the numerous steps taken to curb the menace of smuggling.
    Ajayi-Kadir who was represented by Mr Ambrose Oruche, Director Corporate Affairs, MAN, reiterated that the border closure policy was not sustainable due to its attendant negative implications on the manufacturing sector.
    He explained that the border closure had led to an increase in time wasted at transporting indigenous manufactured products.
    This, he stated, had impacted negatively on cost of production and global competitiveness of indigenous manufactured products.
    “No doubts, the economy is reaping some benefits of the closure but like the two sides of a coin, the operations of other economic operations, especially manufacturers and exporters, are negatively impacted.
    “There is a long lead time in goods delivery to customers at Niger, as the multi-modal system via the shipping lines are very slow and ineffective.
    “This leads to losses in sales as it takes an average of eight weeks for the carriers to ship to customers in Niger which was not the case when the goods were moved through the borders.
    “Exporters in Kano that used to deliver products directly to Mali through the borders within a week can no longer do so,” he said.
    Another stakeholder, Mr Caleb Omoyiola, Advisor, Borderless Alliance, Border Information Center, Seme, said that a joint operation team coded ‘Ex-Swift’ response to tackle all security issues at the borders in four regions of the country have yielded some results.
    ‘Ex-Swift,’ consisting of Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Armed Forces of Nigeria and Nigeria Police Force, operates in the South/South, Southwest, North Central and Northwest regions of the nation.
    On the border closure, Omoyiola listed increase in internally generated revenue, employment and consumption of local products and reduced rate of smuggling contraband items as positives.
    He, however, noted breach of ECOWAS protocols on rules of integration and the free movement of persons, goods and transport within the region as negatives of the border closure policy.
    “It also goes against the spirit of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as it defies regional and international trade treaties and has caused inflation and diplomatic conflict amongst neighbouring countries,” he said.
    Mr Mustapha Bashir, Secretary, Poultry Association of Nigeria, Kano Chapter, also opined that the border closure, though very positive on the poultry market, was not a long term solution.
    Bashir urged institutions to transparently communicate and implement policies focused on achieving long term goals.
    He stressed the need for governing bodies to focus on preservation of agricultural produce and increasing the capacity of farmers to meet supply and ensure competitiveness.
    “Relative to our current and future explosive population, they should channel their focus on ensuring this sector achieve its goals.
    “The Central Bank of Nigeria should have desk officers whose core understanding is agriculture vis-a-vis post harvest and preservation of produces,” he said.
    On the flip side, another stakeholder, Mr Shakin Agbayewa, Deputy State Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), advocated an extension of the border closure policy.
    This, he said, if sustained, and with appropriate measures in place, would result in a decrease in the cost of a 50kg bag of  rice to N10,000 by September.
    He urged for vast expanse of already cleared lands, and provision of good seedlings same as the ones used in China and other rice producing countries by the government to enjoy greater yields.
    “Due to the increase in sales and production, and also the nutritional content of our rice, we are doing absolutely well.
    “If all factors are in place, Nigerians should expect a reduction in the price of bag of rice, as low as N10,000 by September, ” he said. (NAN)
  • Nigeria’s Border Closure: Buhari meets Ghanaian President, Akufo-Addo in London, offers more information

    Nigeria’s Border Closure: Buhari meets Ghanaian President, Akufo-Addo in London, offers more information

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in London held a bilateral meeting with his Ghanaian counterpart, Nana Akufo-Addo, and gave more information on why Nigeria’s borders were partially closed.

    Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja, said the meeting was held at the sidelines of UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020.

    The Nigerian leader stated that the partial closure of the borders were not solely because food products, particularly rice, were being smuggled into Nigeria, but also because arms and ammunition, as well as hard drugs were being ferried into Nigeria.

    The Nigerian Leader said he could not keep his eyes open, and watch youths being destroyed through cheap hard drugs, and compromised security caused by unbridled influx of small arms.

    “When most of the vehicles carrying rice and other food products through our land borders are intercepted, you find cheap hard drugs, and small arms, under the food products. This has terrible consequences for any country,” he said.

    He said it was regrettable that the partial border closure was having “negative economic impact on our neighbours,” but added that “we cannot leave our country, particularly the youths, endangered.”

    According to him, the Sahel region is awash with small arms, which accounts for severe security challenges in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.

    “We are in fact the biggest victims,” he lamented.

    On time frame for reopening the borders, President Buhari said it would not happen till the final report of a committee set up on the matter was submitted and considered.

    “We will get things sorted out. Our farmers, especially those who grow rice, now have a market, and are happy, and we are also concerned about hard drugs and weapons.

    ”Once the committee comes up with its recommendations, we will sit and consider them,” he said.

    President Akufo-Addo, while showing understanding of the need for Nigeria to protect her citizens, pleaded for “an expedited process, because the Nigerian market is significant for certain categories of business people in Ghana.” (NAN)

  • Border closure: NPA promises movement of cargoes to Eastern ports

    Border closure: NPA promises movement of cargoes to Eastern ports

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that it hoped to see more cargoes moving down to the Eastern port this year.

    The General Manager Corporate and Strategic Communications of NPA, Mr Adams Jatto, disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday.

    According to him, due to the border closure, the Lagos ports witnessed tremendous influx of cargoes which led to its congestion.

    He added that the authority was still making every efforts to ensure that it coped with the volume of cargoes coming in, adding that the terminal operators, the handlers, were doing very well in decongesting the port.

    “We are aware that we have overtime cargoes in the port due to delays, but efforts are being made by Customs and stakeholders to ensure these cargoes are evacuated to make way for accommodating more cargoes.

    “Efforts are also being made to make the Eastern ports more viable because from what we have been seeing due to the border closure, more cargoes are now moving to the East and we hope to see more of that this year.

    “Moving these cargoes to the Eastern port is a good thing because it is observed that most of the cargoes that are Lagos bound, most of these consignment are meant for the East.

    “We cannot force people to take their cargo from one place to the other, it is the owner of the cargo that determines where the cargo will go.

    “So, cargoes meant for the East should be taken to the Eastern port to ease means of their doing business,” he said.

    Jatto pointed that there were issues as regards the Eastern ports which NPA was looking into.

    He said Onne Port, in Rivers had bad road and the means of evacuating cargo from the port is 90 per cent through the road network.

    He noted that the NPA management was talking with agencies involved such as the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta.

    According to him, the agencies are the ones who did the road from Port Harcourt to Onne.

    Jatto said that there were assurances that the road would be repaired as soon as possible.

    He stated that the Authority believed that by the time the road was repaired there would be ease of moving cargo from Onne to places such as Onitsha and Aba.

    On the use of badges on the waterways, he said the main focus this year was licencing of operators to ensure that the job was effectively done and measures put to ensure the best operators were licenced.

    Jatto said that NPA was concerned about carrying out the responsibility of inspection before permit was issued to operators.

    He, however, observed that badge operations were important in terms of cargo movement.

    Jatto said that the ultimate goal for NPA was to have an electronic call-up system and parks for the truck to help reduce congestion on the road and ports.

    “The port managers are doing their best in the circumstances that we are, the ultimate goal is for us to have the electronic call ups.

    “What we have now is being done manually and we expect that this kind of hiccup will be there.

    “What we want to do is to ensure we have parks outside the port area, outside Lagos, and the NPA management is discussing with the Ogun and Lagos State governments to ensure we have a park for these trucks.

    “We are not looking at the short term solutions but equally on the long term,” he said.

    He urged stakeholders to keep hope alive as the Authority was doing things in 2020 to ensure there was free flow of traffic in the port to enhance ease of doing business.

    He also urged those in the East to be rest assured that machinery were being put in place to ensure that the Port Harcourt port was reactivated.

    He said that the Authority had commenced the procurement process to make the port more viable and revived adding that procurement of tug boats and security boats were in motion to help tackle security issues.(NAN)

  • Border closure not to obstruct legal businesses – Customs

    Border closure not to obstruct legal businesses – Customs

    Mr Mohammed Garba, the newly appointed Coordinator for the Joint Border Operations Drill, North central Zone, Ilorin, Kwara, says Federal Government policy on temporary border closure is not designed to witchhunt or obstruct legal businesses.

    He said this at the palace of the Emir of Yashikira, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara on Sunday when he led his team on familiarisation tour of border communities in the state.

    Garba, who is also a Comptroller, Nigeria Customs Service, also explained that the idea was not to obstruct indigenes from legitimate trading.

    According to him, the decision is rather to encourage local farmers, control the inflow of arms and ammunition, halt smuggling of illicit drugs and other prohibited goods in and out of the country.

  • Border closure: Nigeria’s dexterous move toward protecting the economy

    Border closure: Nigeria’s dexterous move toward protecting the economy

    The Federal Government in August 2019 announced the partial closure of its land borders with Benin Republic to check the massive smuggling activities especially of rice, taking place on that corridor.

    President Muhammadu Buhari said that the closure of the border was necessary because the activities of smugglers were threatening the self-sufficiency already attained due to his administration’s policies.

    The President also said that the partial closure of the borders to goods was in a bid to have total control of what was coming into the country, following the rise in the smuggling of expired products into the country.

    The partial closure of the land borders, however, did not go down well with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries and a cross-section of Nigerians.

    ECOWAS member countries and their institutions, who argued that the action by the Nigerian government was a breach of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, called for the reopening of the borders.

    Nigerians also described the action by the government as unfair to the masses “who suffer the brunt as a result of scarcity of products and price hike on available goods in the market’’.

    Some government officials, legislators, and experts have however justified the closure of the borders, saying that it was not against the ACFTA and the ETLS.

    Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama explained that the partial closure of the land border was not targeted at any particular country but was aimed at addressing criminal activities.

    He added that it was also a wakeup call to ECOWAS member states to respect relevant treaties on free movement of goods and persons across the sub-region.

    Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state said that the ACFTA was not a ground to allow for trade activities that would be detrimental to Nigeria and its citizens.

    “You cannot say because we have signed up to the ACFTA, you then violate the principle of free trade by dumping in our country.

    “Those that think of the actions of Mr President as wrong are definitely misguided”, Fayemi said.

    Similarly, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said that the decision by Nigeria to close its border was not inconsistent with the ACFTA, adding that countries should learn to live by the rules.

    “The understanding that you have a free trade zone must come with the understanding that everybody must play by the rules. If the rules don’t work, the free trade policy does not work.

    “It is not about smuggling petroleum or rice but in 2017, the Republic of Benin was the world’s second-largest importer of tramadol to the United States.

    “All those drugs came into Northern Nigeria and now we hear that there are also arms coming in.

    “So closing the borders – I hope is not a permanent solution but what I hope – is that is an opportunity to sit down and agree on rules and then open up the borders”, Sanusi said.

    Nigeria’s Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege expressed the belief that non-compliance with the provision of the ECOWAS treaty regarding the management of borders was already impacting negatively on Nigeria as a country.

    “It is also in the interest of ECOWAS as a region that the countries in the region do not breach the protocol and plead pity.

    “They should not breach the protocol and try to create insecurity by attacking citizens of member states.

    “So essentially, with regard to the resolutions reached by the ECOWAS Parliament, we think that they need to look very well at the protocol and see whether recommending that Nigeria just throws the borders open and reward people or nations who are in breach of the protocol or treaty is the right way to go,” Omo-Agege said.

    In a bid to address the many controversies arising from the border closure, President Buhari directed Onyeama to convene a tripartite meeting with officials of some of the countries sharing land borders with Nigeria –  Niger and Benin Republic – to resolve the issues at stake.

    Following an inter-ministerial meeting on Nov. 4, 2019 ahead of the tripartite meeting, Onyeama said that the Nigerian government had listed conditions that ECOWAS member states needed to adhere to before it would open its borders.

    Onyeama said that the conditions included “that the ECOWAS states must respect the Rule of Origin for imports … any import coming to Nigeria must retain its original packaging from the country of origin.

    “There should be no modification whatsoever to the packaging on those goods imported into an ECOWAS member state destined for Nigeria, with the original packaging they must be escorted from the port directly and transferred to the Nigerian Customs Service.

    “If goods are produced in ECOWAS member states, those goods must be in majority produced in those countries or if they are coming from outside ECOWAS the value addition made by an ECOWAS country must be over 30 per cent.

    “The standard is for goods to be accepted within the framework of the Economic Trade Liberalisation Scheme that ECOWAS countries have to promote trade amongst members.

    “The Nigerian government would also insist on the dismantling of all the warehouses along the common borders within a certain distance from the Nigerian borders.’’

    At the end of the Tripartite Anti-Smuggling Committee meeting on Nov. 14, 2019, the minister, said that the meeting took note of all concerns raised and agreed to establish a monitoring and evaluating committee with membership from the three countries.

    He said that Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, and the Niger Republic had established a joint border patrol team comprising the police, customs, and immigration services of the countries to recommend a date for the reopening of the borders.

    “The meeting agreed that the monitoring and evaluation committee will ensure the full implementation of the adopted mandate of the Joint Anti-Smuggling Human Trafficking Committee,’’ Onyeama said.

    Mr Aurelien Agbenonci, Benin Republic’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation pledged the commitment of his home government to upholding the terms of the agreements reached at the meeting.

    Mr Mohammed Bazoum, Senior Minister of Interior, Niger Republic praised Nigeria for convening the meeting which he said would further strengthen regional integration.

    Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.), Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, said that the Jan. 31, 2020 date set for the reopening of the land borders was tentative, adding that the borders would be opened following agreements reached during the tripartite meeting.

    Stakeholders said that the partial closure of its border had enabled Nigeria to give its local industrial sector the protection it needed and the opportunity to make an incursion into the local market without the unfavourable competition from goods smuggled into the country.

    The move by Nigeria, they said, would have set a precedent whereby member country would always take into cognizance rules guiding mutually beneficial economic agreements between them. (NAN)

  • Border closure: Cleric wants Nigerians patient

    Border closure: Cleric wants Nigerians patient

    A cleric, Rev. Fr. Joachim Ochibili, on Sunday in Lagos appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government on its closure of Nigeria’s land borders.

    Ochibili, the Parish Priest of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Ifako, Agege, Lagos, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that although the closure resulted in high cost of goods, the situation would improve.

    The cleric spoke to NAN on the sidelines of the church’s 2019 Cultural Fiesta with the theme: “Cultural Dance, Our Heritage for National Cohesion”.

    “Prices of goods have been going up, and people are really suffering as a result of it.

    “In spite of all these, there is still hope and we should still give God thanks.

    “In every situation, we must still see the bright side.

    “We should hope for the best; that is why we should continue praying for Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)

  • Border Closure: What Nigerians are saying

    Border Closure: What Nigerians are saying

    By Jennifer Y Omiloli

    Following the border closure directives by the president, Muhammadu Buhari, twitter has gone on wild with controversial tweets from Nigerians.

    One of those tweets we couldnt take our eyes off, was that of the former aide of the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri.

    Omokri has been known to tweet controversial messages and he sure didnt disappoint with the controversy this time.

    “Buhari wears IMPORTED $640 designer shoes and wristwatches. His second home is London. If he really believes in border closure, he should wear Kano made shoe and Aba made watch. Practice what you preach!” Wrote Reno Omokri.

    The tweet:

    Femi Fani-Kayode also threw in a punch: “Nigerians should endure the pains of border closure”- Prof Osinbajo
    Point of correction Mr. VP! You mean southerners should endure the pains of border closure. All borders in the north are open!”

    See tweet:

    Besides Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode, twitter has been buzzing regarding this border closure, below are some of the tweets.

    On the positive, below are some tweets