Tiani and Patrice Talon
Between Niamey And Cotonoupower would not always be restored even after the lifting of ECOWAS sanctions.
To protest against the closure of the borders on the Niger side, the Beninese authorities have decided to block the loading of Nigerien oil from the Sèmè Kpodji platform, in Benin, where the pipeline lands.
According to certain media sources, the Beninese government notified in a letter addressed to the China National Petroleum Corporation, in charge of managing the Niger-Benin pipeline, and to the Chinese ambassador to Benin, its decision to block any vessel assigned to transport Nigerien oil through the port of Sèmè-Kpodji.
Remember that Nigerien crude oil gushed out last April at the Sémé Kraté terminal station located between the Beninese towns of Cotonou and Porto-Novo via a 2,000 km pipeline, of which 675 km are on Beninese territory.April 24
Thanks to this almost 2,000 km long oil pipeline, Niger sold its crude oil on the international market for the first time, via the port of Sèmè in Benin.
While the heavy regional sanctions imposed on Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in response to the July 26 coup have been lifted, Cotonou finds it incomprehensible that the borders remain closed on the Niger side, although open on its level.
Benin would to date be the only country bordering Niger that is not a member of the AES, with which its borders remain closed.
For the moment, no official reaction from the Nigerien military authorities in power.
