By Franklin Alli
The UK Department for International Development (DFID), said it’s financing the cost of Feasibility Study for the establishment of the Okerete Transnational Border Market in Oyo State, with two million pounds (about N500 million).

The representative of DFID, Patricia Sex, who stated this during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at the Governor Office in Ibadan, said that DFID was financing the feasibility study to the tune of two million pounds through its trade portfolio of the Nigeria Policy Development Facility (PDF).

She added that the study will look at the infrastructure that was needed to facilitate trade along the corridor and cross-border commerce which will help to leverage investment from government, other development partners and the private sector by supporting the development of bankable projects.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said  that the project will be executed under a public private sector (PPP) arrangement that involve federal, State and Local government, Local communities, private sector investors (local and International) and development partners.

The Minister pointed out that the project after completion has potential to generate more than five million direct and indirect jobs as well as increase the revenue of government.

Aganga said that a lot of informal trading activities are taking place along the border which had led to a reduction in revenue to government, influx of substandard and hazardous goods and inability to collect statistic on imports and exports in the area.

He noted that studies have revealed that these informal trading activities are thriving as a result of cumbersome import procedures, quantitative restrictions on imports and high tariff on some of the products.

According to him, the establishment of the border market will formalise the informal trade activities, modernise the border posts with the associated infrastructure, increase formal cross-border, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of border agencies as well as increase access to key services for those crossing the border.

He further disclosed government’s plans to establish transnational border markets in the six geo-political zones starting with Okerete, a trans Sahara Trade route in South West zone and others in North East (Camboru Ngala in Bornu State), North West (Kamba in Kebbi State), North Central (Bambana in Niger State), South-South (Mfun in Cross Rivers State) and South East (Lokpanta Regional Market in Abia State).

The Governor of Oyo state, Senator Abiola Ajimobim,  applauded the joint partnership between federal government, DFID, and the Oyo state government, stressing that the market stands to act as a source of foreign reserve earning for Nigeria and the people of Oyo state.

Already, she said that the government has sunk boreholes for the neighbouring communities, good network roads and other infrastructure.