The President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Moustapha Cissé Lô, called on Nigeria to respect the free trade agreements and reopen its border with Benin.
According to Lô, who was speaking at the 2nd extraordinary session of the parliament of the regional organization held Monday in Liberia, “the closure of the borders violates the protocol of the agreements on the free movement of persons and goods of ECOWAS, signed by Nigeria.”
By closing its land border with Benin since August 20, Abuja explained that this measure is part of a security exercise to combat smuggling, arms trafficking and banditry.
“Africa is at a stage where it must take action for the effective removal of barriers within the Community,” said Moustapha Cissé Lô, calling on the Nigerian government to address the root causes of banditry and cross-border smuggling.
In this regard, he reported on the proposal of the ECOWAS Parliament for a “coordinated fight” to contain these various scourges.
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