Niger has still not reopened its land border with Benin since the West African regional bloc Ecowas lifted many of the sanctions imposed on Niamey following the overthrow of former President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July 2023.
Sources within the Beninese government spoke of the arrival in Cotonou on the evening of 3 March of officials from Niger, most of them customs officers.
The delegation of ten is reportedly led by Colonel Abdoulaye Alidou Maïga, a customs inspector and director of facilitation, partnership, economic and special arrangements.
It also includes two Chinese working on the West African Oil Pipeline Company Sa (WAPCO) project.
The project involves the construction of a 2,000 km pipeline, 1,250 km of which is in Niger.
The pipeline will transport crude oil from the Agadem oil fields in south-eastern Niger to the port of Sèmè in southern Benin, from where Niger’s black gold will be exported.
The lukewarm relations between Cotonou and Niamey following the coup slightly delayed the pipeline’s commissioning.
The gigantic project, on which work began in 2019, was finally inaugurated at the beginning of November 2023.
However, it was not until 1 March that WAPCO officials announced that it would be officially inaugurated.
According to them, the first ship is expected to be loaded at the port of Sèmè, not far from Cotonou, in May 2024.
According to government sources, the Nigerien delegation in Cotonou and the Beninese authorities will discuss the project.
The other aspect of the talks between the two parties will focus on trade relations between Cotonou and Niamey. Since the closure of Benin’s borders with Niger following the coup at the end of July, relations between the two capitals have deteriorated.
The new authorities in Niger have even openly accused Benin of serving as a rear base for “enemies” threatening to launch a military operation against Niger.
As a result of the crisis, thousands of containers of goods destined for Niger have been blocked at the port of Cotonou.
According to the Niger import-export traders and wholesalers union, more than 13,000 containers are affected.
According to Tidjani Mahamadou, one of the leaders of the collective, speaking on Bonferey TV in Niamey, there is no question of Nigerien importers paying the fines demanded by the port of Cotonou before allowing these goods to leave.
“We cannot pay these fines. It’s up to them to deduct all the costs they have added up, because it was they and Ecowas who created this blockade. We wanted to continue moving our goods, but they were the ones who blocked it,” said the importer.
Mahamadou claims that until the Beninese authorities clarify their position on the situation, traders from Niger will not return to the port of Cotonou. In his opinion, the port of Lomé, which Nigerian operators have been using since the beginning of the crisis, is already meeting their expectations very well.
The Niger delegation, which will be in Cotonou until 8 March, will try to reach an agreement with the Beninese authorities on this issue.
Niamey is still keeping its borders with Cotonou and Abuja closed, despite the lifting of some of the sanctions against Niger by the Economic Community of West African States at its extraordinary summit on 24 February.
