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Buhari explains real reasons for border closure

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Buhari explains real reasons for border closure

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday in London, explained the real reasons the Nigerian government took a decision to close its land borders.

He said the partial closure of Nigeria’s borders was not meant to punish her neighbours, but to strengthen the country’s security and economy.

He stated this during a meeting with a select group of the Nigerian Community in the United Kingdom.

Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, who made the details of the meeting available in a statement Saturday night, said the President explained that the period of closure would be used for stock-taking on threats to the nation’s security and economy.

He noted that Nigerian farmers had been celebrating the closure, which he claimed, had drastically reduced smuggling of agricultural produce as well as arms and ammunition.

“President Buhari attributed the country’s virtual food security position to the ‘very good last three rainy seasons;’ the federal government’s reduction in the price of fertilizers by 50 per cent and the presidential directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria not to give foreign exchange for food imports thereby saving the nations billions of naira,” Adesina said.

Commending Nigerians in the Diaspora for their huge home remittances – more than $25 billion in 2018 – the President also lauded their individual performances in their various fields of expertise.

Explaining the achievements of his administration in implementing its three-point campaign agenda by focusing on fixing the economy, providing security and tackling corruption, the President said Nigeria’s “huge, vibrant youth population” had been encouraged to go back to the farms and were now “living decent and respectable lifestyles.”

On security, he said “it is common sense that you can only run the country if it is secured,” adding that the country “has not done badly in the North East.”

Describing the havoc done by corruption to the image and economy of Nigeria as “terrible,” President Buhari said that his administration’s focus now remained on retrieving stolen fixed assets and returning the proceeds of the sale “to the treasury through the Treasury Single Account (TSA),” so that nobody can return them back to the convicts even after his tenure.

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The President congratulated the current World Heavyweight Boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, who was the cynosure of all eyes during the meeting, on regaining his world championship belt, as well as putting Nigeria “on the world map again like Hogan Bassey.”

On his part, Joshua, who later presented his belts to the President, pledged to “stand up for Nigeria anytime you need me.”

Buhari explains real reasons for border closure

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