President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday ordered the reopening of land borders with neighbors Benin and Niger, which have been closed since August 2019 officially to stop smuggling and encourage local production.

"President Buhari has ordered the immediate opening of border crossings," the Nigerian presidency announced on Twitter.

Four border crossings will be open as of Thursday, and all other border crossings in the country will be reopened by the end of December, Economy Minister Zainab Ahmed told a press briefing on Wednesday.

"The president also recalled that the ban on importing rice, poultry and all products banned from import remains in force and will be put in place by customs teams at the borders," the minister said.

Muhammadu Buhari had overnight imposed the closure of land borders to develop local industry and curb imports, especially via the port of Cotonou in Benin, where many products consumed on the huge Nigerian market of 200 million inhabitants transited.

This measure had had dramatic economic consequences suffocating Benin, southern Niger but also border communities in Nigeria, which live mainly from trade with its neighbors.

Muhammadu Buhari also intended to prevent the smuggling of imported rice (banned in Nigeria to encourage local cultivation), and refined oil to Benin.

This decision, which goes against all the free trade and free movement of goods and people agreements signed within ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) had been strongly criticized by the countries of the region.

Nigeria, with 200 million people and 2 million barrels of oil exported every day, is the largest economy on the African continent, but the country has the largest number of people living below the extreme poverty line in the world.