President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reopening of four land borders with immediate effect while others would be reopened in due course.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said this at the end of 28th virtual meeting Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which the president participated from his hometown Daura, Katsina state.
The minister said the borders opened are Seme in the South-west, Ilela and Maigatari in the North-west as well as Mfun in the South-west.
The minister said restriction on the importation of some commodities like rice and other products would continue to be enforced.
“I am here to just report that His Excellency the president approved the recommendations of the committee that I chaired with the Minister of Trade and Investment as member, Minister of Interior as member, Minister of Foreign Affairs as member, National Security Adviser as member and Comptroller General of Customs.
This committee was mandated to review and advise on the reopening of the Nigerian borders and after recommendations, the president approved the reopening of four land borders, namely: Seme in the South-west part of the country, Ilela in the North-west part of the country, Maitagari in the North-west part of the country and Mfun in the South-south part of the country.
“So, these four land borders will be reopened immediately while the remaining borders are directed to be reopened on or before 31st of December, 2020. Mr. President has also directed on the reopening of the borders that while others are being reopened, the ban on importation of rice, poultry and other banned products still subsists and will be implemented by border patrol team,” she said.
Speaking on the advantages of the closure of the borders, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Niyi Adebayo, said: “We have many advantages to the border closure, it has given the security agencies an opportunity to access the problems at the borders particularly with regard to smuggling.
“As you are all aware before the border closures a lot of petroleum products were being smuggled out from the borders to West African countries and the border closures has created a situation that has tactically stopped that, they have been able to calculate the amount of petroleum products being smuggled out by calculating the amount that is being lifted now compared to what was being lifted before.
“The issue of smuggling of rice to the country has reduced drastically and we are hoping that our agencies will be able to sustain that so also is the issue of poultry smuggling.
“Also very important is the issue of importation of small arms and weapons into the country, that also has stopped. We are hoping and we are sure that this time around, our security agencies will be able to see that that doesn’t reoccur again. These are the issues that caused the closure of the borders in the first place and we have been able to put a stop to them.
Also speaking, Minister of Health, Mr Osagie Ehanire, said Nigerians should expect to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of January 2021.
He said technical working group in the Ministry of Health is working on which vaccine would best suit Nigeria considering that the country has no -80 degrees freezers.
“A technical working group is working on the question on vaccine. We have signed up with the World Health Organisation and the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) for access to vaccines immediately they are available. But you know that these vaccines are new and are in packets and the producers are not giving any indemnity.
“These countries where these vaccines are manufactured, have of course, given themselves the priority to serve themselves, serve their own citizens first and we hope that the pressure from the World Health Organisation and GAVI will be able to get reserves for other countries that are not manufacturing and they will be able to attend to what will signed up to.
“We signed up for advanced market participation in COVAX. So, if we will be able to get our own, I think it will be in January. But there are two types of vaccines. There are those that have to be in ultra deep freezers – the MRA type of vaccines. That is the freezer that must give you Minus 80 percent type of degree.
“There is another type that has to be in the deep freezer of Minus 20 degree which is a deep freezer and there is another type that can be in minus two degree refrigerators. This is the regular refrigerator.
The one that will be in regulator refrigerators is easy. We have them here.
“The one that will be in Minus 20 refrigerators is also going to be possible because we also have the freezers here but the one that will be in ultra cold freezers, we hardly have ultra cold freezers in this country and to receive and store in those ultra cold freezers will require that you purchase the ultra cold freezers.
“So, we are working on the cost. Which one shall we get first? Obviously the one we can afford. Remember that we have 200 million citizens. We need to have a way to be able to get enough to be able to take care of our citizens. So, that means we must be able to get the vaccines that work well, with good cost of storage and cost of delivery. That is the one we will like to get as soon as they are available.
“We also had bilateral discussions with manufacturers. Some of them have written to us that they want to have discussions with us. One of them, as I speak to you, is already having a discussion with the Ministry of Health and the one that British and Russia team are putting together. We are working with them because if we cannot get enough from one source, we should be able to get from other sources. So, we are looking at multiple sources.
“We had a conversation with United Arab Emirates. The ambassador came to see us and told us that they are buying vaccines from China and had tested them. So, they said they are introducing them to us. So, we said we would listen to them because the one that is effective and healthy in those countries and is available is the one we shall bring and that has also proven to be safe,” he said.
The minister said the second wave of coronavirus has hit the the country.
“We have been talking about the imminence of COVID-19 second wave which
has been going on in Europe and America causing great embarrassment to the health system and which we have been talking about could be coming into our country is beginning to really manifest.
“It is that manifestation that we all have to wake up to and buckle up to confirm. It is not a job for the health sector alone, it a job for everybody or all citizens. And for you who are here listening to us today to send the words out.
“First of all what the public need to do is to redouble their efforts to comply with all the advices that you have been given using your masks everytime you’re outside of your house. Once you’re leaving your house put on a mask, a mask should cover your nose the way it covers your mouth. Do not take your mask down to talk to somebody, you should leave your mask on. You don’t need to pull it down. If you do that you have defeated the purpose.
Wash your hands frequently.
“That advisory is still there and it has not changed. Use your hand sanitizer. Social distancing, keeping a gap between you and other people. Because more than 80 percent of people who have COVID-19 will not have a sympton, they’d be looking very fine.
But its a very easily spread disease, its spreads so fast and so easily ….it is an infection that you can easily pass it to the next person and that person can have symptoms the same virus with two different kind of manifestation in people that can kill one person and the other one is standing,” he said.
The minister said the Federal Executive Council has approved the setting up of modern and comprehensive cancer treatment centres in Maiduguri, and to improve NAFDAC’s mobility.
He said the council also approved the purchase of more vehicles and some specialized pain killers in order to make them more available for use in the country.
