NIS receives FG’s directive to reopen land borders by 12 noon on March 29

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has been directed by the Federal Government to re-open the land borders by noon on Sunday, Mr David Parradang, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, has said.

Parradang made the disclosure in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

He said that the directive was given to the service late on Saturday as the country needed to resume activities within and across its land borders which had been closed since Wednesday.

Parradang said although INEC had extended the voting time in some polling centres to Sunday, government gave the directive with the view that voting in those areas would be rounding off or ended by 12 noon.

He said that the opening of the land borders would not in any way affect the voting process, considering that officers of the service were on a 24-hour surveillance of areas within and around the borders.

Mr Abba Moro, the Minister of Interior, also confirmed the directive when he spoke to NAN by telephone.

He said that the directive was given considering the smooth nature in which voting was conducted in most states as well as the effort of INEC to ensure that the process was concluded as soon as possible.

NAN recalls that NIS had, in a statement signed by Mr Chukwuemeka Obua, its spokesman, on Sunday, said the Federal Government had given a directive to open the land borders by 12 noon.