Former President Obasanjo Finally Reacts To Closing Of Borders By Buhari’s Government
Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,
has shown his support for the border closure as he tagged the Benin Republic the dumping ground for goods.
This he said during a news briefing on Tuesday in Addis Ababa. The news briefing was organized on the margins of Policy Dialogue of African Business Associations on implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreements.
Obasanjo urged Benin to change its ways for a harmonious bilateral relationship between the two countries.
According to This Day, he explained that Nigeria had endured smuggling and the likes for a long time. This, he said had undermined the country’s economic well being.
Obasanjo further noted that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was not created to allow one country to turn itself to a dumping ground.
“It happened when I was President of Nigeria. I called the then Benin President, Nicephore Dieudonne Soglo, to let us meet at any of our border posts over the issue. We eventually met at Badagry (in Nigeria), where we agreed that Nigerian Customs would be stationed in Benin.
“They (the Nigerian Customs) are still there. We don’t have issues with goods manufactured in Benin — they are welcome. But as long as Benin allow dumping of goods, there will always be a problem with Nigeria,” Obasanjo said.
