The House of Representatives yesterday urged the Federal Government to lift the ban on the sale of fuel around communities within 20 kilometres of Nigeria’s borders.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion by Adegboyega Nasir Isiaka.
Presenting the motion, Isiaka said the Customs Service in November 2019 announced the ban on sales and supply of petroleum products in the communities.
The House recalled that in November 2019, the Customs announced the ban on the sale and supply of petroleum products in all communities within 20 kilometres of the Nigerian land borders which measure approximately 4,047 kilometres.
The House said it was aware that the ban was apt at the time to prevent the smuggling of subsidised petroleum products to Nigerian neighbouring countries.
“The ban has continued to impact negatively on the socio-economic activities in the affected areas,” he said.
Adopting of the motion, the House mandated its Committee on Customs and Excise (when constituted) to ensure implementation.
Meanwhile, the Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, Mr Wale Adeniyi, said yesterday not all the nation’s land borders had been reopened.
He told reporters after a meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, that the borders which were not among the selected strategic ones reopened in 2022 still remain shut, although a thorough review of the situation is currently ongoing.
“Well, it is not true that all Nigerian borders have been opened. The status quo ante still exists in the borders.
“If you remember that the borders were completely shut down in 2018 up until 2022 when some selected strategic borders were reopened, that is the situation as we speak.
“This was why we had an ad hoc arrangement of a special unit coordinated by the Office of the NSA to enforce that border closure.
“But as we speak, about five of them have been reopened. Four were initially reopened and two more were open after that. And that is still the situation.
“There are ongoing processes to review this situation against the objective of the border closure itself.
“The processes are not yet completed. And of course, when the borders are reopened, it’s not going to be subject of rumour in any way.”
