The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, urged the Nigeria Customs Service to adhere to the accurately measured 20 kilometers from the Idiroko border at Ihunbo community in the Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The House also asked the border security agency to “allow non-petroleum commodities like biscuits, cement, soft drinks, and other consumables to go beyond 20 kilometers from the border so that the people can conduct their legitimate businesses with ease.”
Also, the House urged the Federal Government to provide palliatives to the border communities in Ogun State and other parts of the country to “ameliorate the sufferings caused by the continued closure of the land borders.”
These resolutions were based on the motion moved by a member of the House, Kolawole Lawal, titled ‘Need to Relocate Customs Land Border Road Check Point, Idiroko to an Accurate 20 Kilometers Away.’
Moving the motion, Lawal noted that on November 6, 2019, the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), issued a directive banning the discharge of petroleum products in any filling station within 20 kilometers to any land border in Nigeria.
Lawan also noted that since the directive, all the land borders in the country had complied with the directive, including the Idiroko land border in Ogun State.
The lawmaker pointed out that the 20 kilometers from the land border, in the case of Idiroko border, erroneously terminates at the Ajilete community in the Ipokia Local Government Area, stating that the accurate distance of 20 kilometers from Idiroko terminates at Ihunbo community, “thus the checkpoint should be stationed accordingly.”
“The House is worried that the personnel of the Border Drill Unit, who are charged with the responsibility to enforce the directive in violation of the circular, which is specific about petroleum products, are preventing the residents from transporting other commodities like biscuits, cement, soft drinks and other consumables beyond Ajilete checkpoint.”
