FORMER PRESIDENT MAHAMA APPEALS FOR THE REOPENING OF CLOSED NIGERIAN BORDERS

Former President of the Republic of Ghana, Mr John Mahama, has appealed to the Nigeria Government to open up her border so that economic activities can resume in West Africa.

Mahama made the plea while delivering the 7th Anniversary Lecture, Investiture into The Realnews Hall of Fame and The unveiling of the Book: Pathways to Political and Economic Development of Africa in Lagos. The title of the lecture is `Beyond Politics: An Economic Narrative for West Africa’.

Mr. Mahama said, the total closure of, especially, the Benin border was having a significant toll on many small and medium businesses especially in Togo, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire that relied on inter-country trade.

“I am sure that businesses in Nigeria that rely on supplies from these countries are also suffering. “With the signing of the joint border task force agreement between Nigeria and her neighbours, I will like to take this opportunity to appeal to Nigeria to open up her border so that economic activities can resume,” he said.

The ex-president expressed optimism that as an economic and regional bloc, a lot of economic opportunities were available to ECOWAS and they must take advantage of them. Mahama said: “Back home in Ghana, I also look forward to our government’s intervention that brings an immediate cessation to the forceful and illegal closure of shops of foreigners, especially Nigerians, by members of the local trade associations”.