National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has offered his party’s support for the partial border closure which has been in force for some weeks. He also says there is an organized pressure to blackmail the Federal Government to open the border. But he did not name the pressure groups.
Oshiomhole stated this on Thursday when he visited the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali (rtd) at their headquarters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“I see that there is also some organized pressure to blackmail the administration to review. We therefore felt that we should stand by the government, stand by you to sustain this policy,” he said.
He however explained that the nation is benefiting immensely from the closure of the border by the Federal Government.
While assuring the Customs boss of his party’s support of the policy, he added: “The closure of the border, I think we are beginning to count the benefits accruing from that.”
Reacting to the implications of the border on the nation’s economy, the APC Chairman explained that the Federal Government cannot endanger the lives of Nigerians through the importation of poisonous food items at affordable cost.
“People have pointed at the fact that prices are going up, particularly food. Our national policy cannot be formed by gaining cheap food through smuggling of poisonous food,” he said.
On his part, the Customs boss said the level of crime rates ranging from banditry and importation of arms has reduced.
“The rate of banditry has come down drastically. The import of arms and ammunition has now been curtailed. So even if the bandits are within Nigeria, they don’t have ammunition to anymore to operate. Therefore, with a bunch of rifle, they can only do more harm at a time,” he said.
