The Federal Government has listed higher import revenue, lower domestic fuel consumption and increased rice production by local farmers among the gains of the closure of the country's land borders in four geo-political zones of the country.



The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced the gains when he visited the Seme Border on Monday, along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of State for Finance, Budget and
National Planning Clement Agba, National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service Muhammed Babandede



He said since the closure, the monthly import revenue has increased by 15%, instead of dropping as expected in many quarters, while the local consumption of fuel has dropped by 30%, apparently due to reduced smuggling of the products to neighbouring countries



Alhaji Mohammed also said the closure has so far curbed the smuggling of foreign rice into the country, in addition to other prohibited items.

''There has been an enhanced production and milling of Nigerian rice. Patronage of Nigerian rice has also increased and farmers are expanding their farms as well as engaging more hands'' he said.



The Minister put the value of items seized since the closure at over N3,500,000,000, listing such items as including 38,743 of 50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice, 514 vehicles, 1,012 drums filled with PMS, 5,400 Jerrycans of vegetable oil, 346 motorcycles, 10,553 Jerrycans of PMS and 136 bags of NPK fertilizer used for making explosives.



He also said 296 illegal immigrants have been arrested.

''It is important to note that 95 percent of illicit drugs and weapons that are being used for acts of terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria today come in through our porous borders. However, since this partial closure, these acts have been drastically reduced. Our conclusion is that the arms and ammunition these terrorists and criminal elements
were using no longer gain access into the country. In addition, the importation of the drugs which affect the well-being of Nigerians have equally been reduced,'' he said



He said Benin and Niger are not yet doing enough to ameliorate the challenges that led to the border closure, adding that the magnitude of seizures and the number of illegal immigrants recorded in the last two weeks alone confirm this assertion..

''As we speak, we have ships loaded with rice waiting to discharge (in Benin) and the target market is Nigeria (for Christmas). We have (MV Africana Jacana with 40,000 metric tons of rice, MV Zilos with 20,000 mts and MV Sam Jarguar with 45,000 MTS and others,''Lai Mohammed said.



He said the border closure would not have occurred if Nigeria's neighbours had complied with the various MOUs as well as the ECOWAS transit protocols, including the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS).

''Discussions on doing legitimate trade between Nigeria on one hand and Benin and Niger on the other, started in 2005. The discussions have led to MOUs in 2005, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, all designed to facilitating free movement of goods manufactured in their respective countries and work out the modalities through the Ministers of Trade of both countries for the realization of this objectives.

''It worth noting that there has never been legitimate transit trade between Nigeria and the two countries (Benin and Niger) For clarity, the ECOWAS protocol on transit demands that when a transit container berths at a seaport, the receiving country is mandated to escort same without tampering with the seal to the border of the destination country. Unfortunately, experience has shown that our neighbours do not comply with this protocol.

''Rather, they break the seals of containers at their ports and trans-load goods destined for Nigeria from the original container to trucks. In most cases five containers loaded onto one truck and duty paid as one truck. This improper trans-loading of transit goods makes
it impossible to properly examine such goods, resulting in importation of illicit goods, including arms and ammunition, without being detected. Because goods are not examined, mis-classification and resultant loss of revenue become the ultimate consequence of this
illegitimate transit trade'' Mohammed said



He said Exercise Swift Response, the joint border security exercise which was launched 20 Aug. 2019, has provided a unique platform for the various participating agencies to jointly operate, thereby strengthening inter-agency collaboration and reducing animosity.



https://fmic.gov.ng/border-closure-higher-import-revenue-lower-fuel-consumption-increased-rice-production-among-gains-fg/

Na So

Lower feul consumption because engines now run on APC propoaganda and urine as replacements for fuel


Hate speech kor. Ayam in my house

Please when is the super eagles playing their next match?

Nonsense !!!! The Buhari govt will not tell U that average daily fuel consumption was 26 million litres a day when he took over from Jonathan and the borders were open but under Buhari this figure mysteriously jumped to 60 million litres a day and now Buhari is celebrating because it has reduced to 57 million litres a day which is still a far cry from the 26 million litres a day under Jonathan and then border where open ooo

See dem wailers above me

A welcome development however the government should watch it because those smugglers are smarter

Area4Area:
See dem wailers above me

Bros forget wailers matter. This country is in a mess!

Reduced fuel consumption. . Yet subsidy has increased X3. Who is deceiving who.

Higher revenue at the expense of cheap bags of rice. Selfish government

Southern Nigeria open your eyes. Boarders in the north are still thoroughfare.

Lai is such a shameless old man.

I honestly stopped reading the moment I came across the name lai Mohammed. I don't just know why

I love this Lai niggar. He's a crystal embodiment of what the government of the day really is.
The things he says shocks even the devil.

Am I the only that wonders if there's another Nigeria somewhere that these peeps are really talking about or what

OK na now, pls next page pls.

Buhari is up to something, it’s a pattern with most dictators when he wants his third term all the boarders will be closed, there will be serious need for money since he has sent everybody into hiding. The Third term will happen and Nigerians will allow it .

jayson87:
Reduced fuel consumption. . Yet subsidy has increased X3. Who is deceiving who.

Higher revenue at the expense of cheap bags of rice. Selfish government

More like useless government.

They always celebrate nonsense because their zombies are easily deceived and will carry this mediocre achievement an start singing like they have solved a scientific problem.

The trans-loading thing is true though. I shipped in a Mercedes from Canada and the shipper advised me to put "in transit to Nigeria via Niger" on the container. I told him no, it's going to Nigeria. Tin-Can to be exact. Like other cars I've shipped before. He said no, this is how I'd save money. I told him to please ship to Tin-Can. Not even realizing I was saving myself customs wahala. My business partner shipped his almost brand new camry through Niger. The bumper was missing by the time it got to Abuja. They "race" the cars through the bush avoiding customs. We had to be buying shock absorbers, lower arm etc for an almost brand new car. Plus he can't travel with the car now because of customs. Not that I was smarter than him, I was just lucky.

SalamRushdie:
Nonsense !!!! The Buhari govt will not tell U that average daily fuel consumption was 26 million litres a day when he took over from Jonathan and the borders were open but under Buhari this figure mysteriously jumped to 60 million litres a day and now Buhari is celebrating because it has reduced to 57 million litres a day which is still a far cry from the 26 million litres a day under Jonathan and then border where open ooo

When you be scam, you be scam abeg.

fg stops import of frozen products. If coastline state go into fish production and processing will they die?. if my state imo establish big poultries. give loans to upcoming ones. Establish freezing equipment shebi the gov will die after 3days?. Even lga chairmen can do this. local rice millers took advantage of the border closure to increase the price since they know we have no choice.
even the flour we produce locally is not all that local because my bro who works at bua told me that they import the wheat from northern europe. What are nöthern govs doing apart frm shouting sai bäba.

Way to go

Higher revenue for the government at the expense of reduce GDP for the masses.

Wokenaija:
Buhari is up to something, it’s a pattern with most dictators when he wants his third term all the boarders will be closed, there will be serious need for money since he has sent everybody into hiding. The Third term will happen and Nigerians will allow it .

You can't honestly believe that.

A welcome development, the only thing wailers want to hear is bad news, thunder fire all the enemies of the nation.

I pray we succeed this battle.. Revenue Increases but no infrastructure facilities. Poor Road, No Water, Poor power supply, Poor Health Care etc

Quincykay:
The trans-loading thing is true though. I shipped in a Mercedes from Canada and the shipper advised me to put "in transit to Nigeria via Niger" on the container. I told him no, it's going to Nigeria. Tin-Can to be exact. Like other cars I've shipped before. He said no, this is how I'd save money. I told him to please ship to Tin-Can. Not even realizing I was saving myself customs wahala. My business partner shipped his almost brand new camry through Niger. The bumper was missing by the time it got to Abuja. They "race" the cars through the bush avoiding customs. We had to be buying shock absorbers, lower arm etc for an almost brand new car. Plus he can't travel with the car now because of customs. Not that I was smarter than him, I was just lucky.

Lucky you.
I'm glad you did the right thing.

healthserve:
Na So

Lower feul consumption because engines now run on APC propoaganda and urine as replacements for fuel

Hate speech kor. Ayam in my house

www.nairaland.com/attachments/3087265_fuelscarcity_jpeg1218fe086583b1a789562733dcdfecf5



www.nairaland.com/attachments/2674047_2671101fbimg1435752845837jpeg8fa3e5cefe73fa369d83ff842dcb8396_jpeg_jpeg08705abfd750ea2ff336c659bb1b7a6a

Its a waste of MB listening
to this pathological liar!!


Who 'increased' revenue epp?


Govt may be making a little more
money, at the expense of Nigerians
losing tens of billions daily.

NigeriaBam:
I pray we succeed this battle.. Revenue Increases but no infrastructure facilities. Poor Road, No Water, Poor power supply, Poor Health Care etc

You don't know the game.
Just a glimpse below.


www.nairaland.com/attachments/3366293_12592702433304193542547353995524183236234n2_jpeg62599ae10f52a4c44d2b9b7e4e55e5b9


www.nairaland.com/attachments/3366333_12592746433304240209209248664891793827469n1_jpeg5b033ca554a083934f0c7e0663019c9c


www.nairaland.com/attachments/3366370_125927734333042835425381910869646342089244n1_jpeg1d4b88cded8ebcb69839caf542969a5a

What happened to the increased revenue jare?
Hope we won't find it in another flat in Lagos?
Or better still, hope it won't grow legs and walk away?

Wait! Na our Minister talk am?
Hehehe.....

So, when d borders are reopened, we go back to where we came from... mumu govt

Jowanonline:
The Federal Government has listed higher import revenue, lower domestic fuel consumption and increased rice production by local farmers among the gains of the closure of the country's land borders in four geo-political zones of the country.



The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced the gains when he visited the Seme Border on Monday, along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of State for Finance, Budget and
National Planning Clement Agba, National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service Muhammed Babandede



He said since the closure, the monthly import revenue has increased by 15%, instead of dropping as expected in many quarters, while the local consumption of fuel has dropped by 30%, apparently due to reduced smuggling of the products to neighbouring countries



Alhaji Mohammed also said the closure has so far curbed the smuggling of foreign rice into the country, in addition to other prohibited items.

''There has been an enhanced production and milling of Nigerian rice. Patronage of Nigerian rice has also increased and farmers are expanding their farms as well as engaging more hands'' he said.



The Minister put the value of items seized since the closure at over N3,500,000,000, listing such items as including 38,743 of 50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice, 514 vehicles, 1,012 drums filled with PMS, 5,400 Jerrycans of vegetable oil, 346 motorcycles, 10,553 Jerrycans of PMS and 136 bags of NPK fertilizer used for making explosives.



He also said 296 illegal immigrants have been arrested.

''It is important to note that 95 percent of illicit drugs and weapons that are being used for acts of terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria today come in through our porous borders. However, since this partial closure, these acts have been drastically reduced. Our conclusion is that the arms and ammunition these terrorists and criminal elements
were using no longer gain access into the country. In addition, the importation of the drugs which affect the well-being of Nigerians have equally been reduced,'' he said



He said Benin and Niger are not yet doing enough to ameliorate the challenges that led to the border closure, adding that the magnitude of seizures and the number of illegal immigrants recorded in the last two weeks alone confirm this assertion..

''As we speak, we have ships loaded with rice waiting to discharge (in Benin) and the target market is Nigeria (for Christmas). We have (MV Africana Jacana with 40,000 metric tons of rice, MV Zilos with 20,000 mts and MV Sam Jarguar with 45,000 MTS and others,''Lai Mohammed said.



He said the border closure would not have occurred if Nigeria's neighbours had complied with the various MOUs as well as the ECOWAS transit protocols, including the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS).

''Discussions on doing legitimate trade between Nigeria on one hand and Benin and Niger on the other, started in 2005. The discussions have led to MOUs in 2005, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, all designed to facilitating free movement of goods manufactured in their respective countries and work out the modalities through the Ministers of Trade of both countries for the realization of this objectives.

''It worth noting that there has never been legitimate transit trade between Nigeria and the two countries (Benin and Niger) For clarity, the ECOWAS protocol on transit demands that when a transit container berths at a seaport, the receiving country is mandated to escort same without tampering with the seal to the border of the destination country. Unfortunately, experience has shown that our neighbours do not comply with this protocol.

''Rather, they break the seals of containers at their ports and trans-load goods destined for Nigeria from the original container to trucks. In most cases five containers loaded onto one truck and duty paid as one truck. This improper trans-loading of transit goods makes
it impossible to properly examine such goods, resulting in importation of illicit goods, including arms and ammunition, without being detected. Because goods are not examined, mis-classification and resultant loss of revenue become the ultimate consequence of this
illegitimate transit trade'' Mohammed said



He said Exercise Swift Response, the joint border security exercise which was launched 20 Aug. 2019, has provided a unique platform for the various participating agencies to jointly operate, thereby strengthening inter-agency collaboration and reducing animosity.



https://fmic.gov.ng/border-closure-higher-import-revenue-lower-fuel-consumption-increased-rice-production-among-gains-fg/

I wan belief before but since it is coming from oga lai. Abeg jare! Wan dey ni yen- low fuel consumtion huh.