Transit drivers call for ECOWAS intervention in the opening of Niger border for trade

A high-level meeting of Ministers in charge of Trade and Finance of the five (5) countries on the Abidjan-Lagos corridor namely Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria took place between the 3rd to 5th of October in Cotonou where issues affecting the free movement of goods in transit were discussed.

Ahead of this meeting, the National President of Borderless Alliance, Ziad Hamoui, had engaged representatives of the Joint Association of Port Transport Unions (JAPTU) to table their concerns and first-hand experiences of challenges during transit across the subregion.

The members were particularly aggrieved by events at the Niger border which have led to the closure of borders and its trickle-down impact on goods perishing, among reported crimes in and around border towns leading transporters to desert their cargo-laden vehicles.

They pleaded with the political heads within West Africa to reach an agreement with the leadership of Niger that would ensure the backlog of goods slated for the country would be allowed entry, so millions of dollars could be saved.