 In business news, Nigeria's trade deficit rose from $1.69 billion in December 2020 to $2.51 billion as at the end of January 2021. Despite the reopening of borders, as statistics made available by the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown, for more than a year, the federal government shut the country's land borders due to alleged violation of ECOWAS protocols by neighboring countries. The border closure was aimed at stemming the tide of smuggling, illicit migration, AMS, banditry, drug trafficking and proliferation of light weapons. While the closure was aimed at strengthening demand for some local products, it impacted negatively on others as many business crews could not import from or export to the West and Central African market. On December 16, the federal government ordered the reopening of four borders, Seme, Ilela, Mufung and Maigatari. The CBN January reports on external sector trade performance showed that while trade volume in January increased, the export components decreased compared to the import components. NEWS OPDATES