The Federal Government had yet to decide a terminal date when the country’s border would be reopened to neighboring countries.
The Federal Government had in August closed its borders to neighboring countries in an exercise code-named operation Exercise Swift Response.
The action which had resulted in joint border operations by a combined team of security agencies had been greeted by mixed reactions from stakeholders
While some stakeholders had described the border closure as a move in a positive direction, others have described it as a setback for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
Speaking during a chat with journalists on Monday in Abuja, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, said the Federal Government had held strategic meetings with Benin Republic and Niger to reach an agreement on modalities for the border reopening.
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She said one of the fallout of the meeting was the setting up of a joint boarder patrol team made up of security personnel from customs, air-force and other security agencies.
The minister said the decision to reopen the border would be based on recommendations from the patrol team on whether Niger and Benin Republic have complied with trade protocols.
She said, “We had the strategic meeting with the three countries and what we agreed with our neighbors is to activate a joint border patrol and that border patrol comprising the customs, all the security agencies and ensure to try to follow the actual protocol laid by ECOWAS.
“The committee met on November 25 and it is only when that committee is certain that all the countries are respecting the ECOWAS protocol that they will recommend a day for the opening of the border.”
The Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Richard Adebayo, said that the ministry is currently carrying out a review of the country’s trade policy as well as the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan to reflect current economic realities.
He also said that the automotive policy is being reviewed, adding that a meeting would be held with stakeholders in the auto sector on January 28 to get their input to the policy.
He said after the stakeholders’ meeting, the executive would present a bill to the National Assembly for the policy to become law.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
