The Federal Government has given the green light for the resumption of vehicle importation through the Seme land border. This was revealed by Ibrahim Musa, the Director of Road Transport in the Ministry of Transportation, on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Musa said the approval was granted after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) considered a memo from the ministry, which was prompted by the appeals of freight forwarders operating at the border. He said the memo was prepared by the former Minister of Transportation and forwarded to the government.
He said: “The former minister made us prepare a memo to that effect. It was considered and sent to the government.”
The Seme border command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) also welcomed the decision, saying it would boost its revenue generation. The Customs Area Controller of Seme Border Command, Dera Nnadi, said the service had recorded a decline in its revenue since the importation of vehicles through the land borders was suspended.
Nnadi said: “The former Minister of Transportation, responding to some of our requests and from the stakeholders, promised to take them to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, one of them is how to fully open this border. The Ministry has informed us that the memo has been written to FEC and it was adopted and that it would be given to the new government, he assured us that all the requests were adopted.”
The reopening of the Seme border for vehicle importation is part of the efforts of the Federal Government to improve trade relations with neighbouring countries and promote regional integration.
