Sustain Border Closure Beyond Two Years, Lawmaker Tells FG

A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Simon Atigwe (PDP-Enugu), has urged the Federal Government to sustain the closure of land borders beyond two years to enable Nigerians reap the benefits.
Atigwe, who made the call in an interview with journalists yesterday in Abuja, said the closure was the best policy so far put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The lawmaker, who represents Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency of Enugu State, said that apart from helping to checkmate the influx of arms which fueled insecurity, it would compel Nigerians to go back to agriculture.
“Personally, I think that is the best decision so far taken by the President as far as the economy of Nigeria is concerned.
“That is because you do not just allow your country to be flooded with goods from other countries, making your own citizens very lazy; making them consumers only and not producers.
“I think it does not help anybody saying that borders should be opened to importers anyhow while smuggling goes on uncontrolled.
“Apart from making us lazy, we are still losing income; we are losing revenue because all these people smuggling goods through road borders are not paying anything”.