President Bola Tinubu has directed the reopening of Nigeria’s borders with Niger Republic, aligning with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) directive.
The announcement came through a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Wednesday.
Ngelale highlighted that the decision follows the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government’s consensus during an extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja.
“ECOWAS leaders had agreed to lift economic sanctions against the Republic of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea,” the statement read.
“The President has directed that the following sanctions imposed on the Republic of Niger be lifted immediately:
“Closure of land and air borders between Nigeria and Niger Republic, as well as ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger Republic. Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between Nigeria and Niger, as well as freeze of all service transactions, including utility services and electricity to Niger Republic.
“Freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Banks and freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger, state enterprises, and parastatals in commercial banks.
“Suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID and BOAD. Travel bans on government officials and their family members.”