The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono says Federal Government’s border closure does not in any way breach the free-trade agreement in the West African sub-region.
The Minister explained that the measure is meant to protect the country and its citizens from the nefarious activities that take place at the borders. He added that the Federal Government is holding talks with the countries concerned, to ensure that they kept to the terms of the free-trade agreement.
Nanono said the Free-trade does not mean Nigeria has to be a dumping ground for everything imported by others, adding that the products are not even from all these countries involved, adding that the border closure was not meant to hurt anybody.
The Minister noted that one of the major impacts of the border closure was that Nigerians have begun to consume local rice and other locally-produced commodities, pointing out that a lot of activities were going on at the borders which were not in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.
