THE Kebbi State government has commended the Federal Government for reopening the four new borders.
The Federal Government had, over the weekend, announced the reopening of the remaining four land borders of Idiroko, Jibia, Kamba and Ikom borders.
This came a few years after shutting the land borders due to incessant smuggling of different contrabands.
In a statement by the Customs Public Relations Officer of the command, Nasiru Manga, the State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, expressed support for Nigeria Customs Service, Kebbi Area Command, for discharging its statutory functions.
Bagudu, who was represented at the event by the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Garba Ibrahim Geza, expressed optimism that the reopening of the border would impact positively on small and medium enterprises and youths in the state who stood to benefit most from the border reopening.
Earlier, the Customs Area Controller in charge of Kebbi Command, Joseph Attah, told the stakeholders and citizens of Kamba that the reopening of the border presented an opportunity for legitimate business activities across the borders.
“Border reopening was not an invitation to illegitimate trade and it was not permission for the importation of every manner of goods, especially those that could compromise national security. It is meant to allow trade that could improve the economy and impact positively on the people.
“Officers and men are ready to facilitate legitimate trade and do all within the ambit of the law to make trade across Kamba Border seamless as long as stakeholders import what is allowed by the law, make a proper declaration and pay appropriate duties to the Federal Government coffers.”
The District Head of Kamba, Mahmuda Fana, who could not hide his joy, commended the Federal Government for the development, noting that the reopening would boost the economic activities of the border town and the nation at large.
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