President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the 36 state governors, that the Nigerian borders will be reopened as soon as possible, as neighbouring countries have received the message the federal government wanted to past with the closure.
The President said this on Tuesday 8th December 2020, when he met with the 36 state governors at the statehouse Abuja.
The President while meeting with the 36 state governors, said:
“In my meeting with State Governors today I explained that the closure of Nigeria’s land borders was partly an attempt to control the smuggling in of weapons & drugs. Now that the message has sunk in with our neighbours,we’re looking into reopening the borders as soon as possible,” he said.
President Buhari in his statement on Tuesday, also touched on the issue of intelligence gather, and what the administration is doing to tackle the current security challenges in the country. He said:
“Intelligence-gathering is also very critical to ensuring lasting security in Nigeria. In this regard, everyone has a role to play, in addition to the security agencies: Governors, traditional rulers, community leaders, citizens. We must all work to boost intelligence-gathering.
We are investing heavily in weapons and equipment for our military. They have already received armoured cars and other equipment, and aircraft, and more will come in. We will continue to give them all the support they need to fight criminals. We must and will secure Nigeria,” he added.
The Federal Government had in a statement by the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), retired Col. Hameed Ali, in 2019, stated that the closure of Nigeria’s borders was undertaken to strengthen the nation’s security and protect its economic interests. It also stated that the closure was not intended to hurt anyone but to protect the interests of the nation.
“Our interest is to make sure that our country is secure, the well-being of our people is ensured and our economy is secure.
“The step we have taken is in the interest of Nigeria, the step is not to hurt anybody but to protect our own interests as a nation,” he had said then.