The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has advised the
Nigerian government to find a permanent solution to the challenge of
smuggling.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the bloc said the border closure
might hamper the implementation of free trade movement within the
region.
Addressing parliamentarians at the ongoing 2nd extraordinary session
of the ECOWAS parliament in Monrovia, the Speaker, Moustapha Lo,
requested that the Nigerian government reopens its
borders.
Lo said the closure happened at a time when Africa was working to
intensify efforts for the effective abolition of barriers within the
member-states.
The Nigerian government had closed its borders since August with
President Muhammadu Buhari saying the move was to check smuggling.
The ECOWAS parliament said the closure is a hindrance to the
achievement of the regional blocโs main objective, which includes
โachieving the creation of a prosperous, borderless West African
region where peace and harmony prevailโ.
โThe ECOWAS Parliament calls for compliance with Community provisions
and thus calls for the reopening of borders and a coordinated fight
against smuggling in the region,โ the statement said.
โThe root causes of this recurrent situation must be studied with a
view to finding a permanent solution.โ
