Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said the federal government has not lifted the ban on vehicle importation through the Seme border.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Customs Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Hussaini Abdullahi Seme area command made this clarification in an interview with NAN on Saturday.
Abdullahi who made this clarification in reaction to reports that the border was now open to vehicle importation, said the government has not made a pronouncement on reopening the border.
The Custom Spokesman acknowledged that a proposal was written by some freight forwarders to the federal government following a piece of advice from the Former Minister of State for Transportation, Ademola Adegoroye.
Abdullahi stated that the former minister had visited the border to inaugurate some projects in February when the freight forwarders complained to him about how the ban had affected them.
He noted that Adegoroye advised the freight forwarders and members of the border community to put their requests in writing.
He said during a recent visit by Ibrahim Musa, director of road transport in the Ministry of Transportation, it was confirmed that the letter by the freight forwarders had been received and acted upon — by passing it to a higher authority.
The Customs Spokesperson said no directive had been given on the matter.
In August 2019, Former President Muhammadu Buhari shut all land borders as part of efforts to curtail smuggling and boost local production of rice.
On December 6, 2020, Buhari ordered the immediate reopening of four land borders, including Seme in Lagos.
