Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — The Port Consultative Council, PCC, has said that the Federal Government must get countries in the Economic Community of West Africa States, ECOWAS, to restructure the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, ETLS, as a condition to reopen the nation’s borders.
Speaking at an interactive session hosted by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, the Chairman of the PCC, Otunba Kunle Folarin, said that for the government not to have any reason 5to shut the borders in the future.
Folarin explained that ECOWAS do not have to have crisis before control measures were put in place to manage these crisis.
According to Otunba Folrain, 600 trailers loaded with goods exits and enters Nigeria to other neighbouring countries everyday just as over $2million cash also exchanges hands from cross border trading every day as well.
In the session themed ‘Federal Government Land Border Closure: Freight Forwarders Perspective’ Folarin further explained that the closure of the border goes beyond the physical closure of the border adding that there was more to the economic and finance of the border closure.
“From the discussions today, it is very clear that those that are affected by the border closure feel that the issue should be revisited and that the border should be reopened and if it is not opened, there must be some framework to be done so that for future, we shall have no reason to close the border.
“Particularly the issue of Customs administration was mention, we have to reformed, we have restructure all the treaties and protocols.
“Importation and exportation of goods and services must receive a tighter administration, we must wait until there is crisis before we do damage control.
“Closing the border is damage control and we should avoid that in order to make sure that Nigeria prospers by giving due attention to issues that needs attention”