Tinubu’s Aide Tackles Atiku Over Plan To Reopen Nigeria’s Borders
The senior special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on media and publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has criticised former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his promise to reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected president in 2027.
Ajayi questioned the feasibility of Atiku’s pledge, arguing that the former vice president appeared to be promising to reopen borders that were already operational.
The presidential aide made the remarks on Saturday in a post on his social media handles while reacting to Atiku’s recent campaign pledge.
Atiku had promised to reopen Nigeria’s land borders and develop ports in the southern and South-Eastern parts of the country if elected president in 2027.
The ADC presidential candidate made the pledge while addressing supporters in a video shared online on Friday.
According to Atiku, the closure of Nigeria’s borders had severely affected transborder trade, forcing several young entrepreneurs out of business and worsening unemployment.
He argued that cross-border commerce remained crucial to the economies of communities and states bordering Cameroon, Chad, Niger Republic and Benin Republic.
“So I said I am going to reopen the borders and I will,” Atiku said.
He claimed that young Nigerians who previously operated businesses with between N10 million and N20 million in capital had been pushed into bankruptcy by the border policy.
Atiku also linked the loss of businesses and jobs to Nigeria’s security challenges, questioning how the country could achieve lasting security when young people had lost their sources of livelihood.
“All the upcoming young men and women who used to have a capital of 10 million, 20 million, and they were employing two, three other people, and then all of them went bankrupt and unemployed. How can there be security?” he asked.
But Ajayi dismissed the pledge, saying Atiku’s proposal did not reflect the current situation regarding Nigeria’s land borders.
“It appears former Vice President Atiku Abubakar now wakes up every day and just looks for something to say to make headline. And it doesn’t matter whether he speaks to facts and reality as long as he can make the news,” Ajayi said.
“His latest offering is that he wants to open borders that are not closed. How do you open what is not closed?”
Beyond the border issue, Atiku has proposed a broader restructuring of Nigeria’s transportation and importation system through the development of southern ports.
He said ports in places such as Calabar, Uyo and Port Harcourt could help reduce the cost and time required to move imported goods to northern parts of the country.
The former vice president said he had previously engaged shippers and ship development companies in Europe over possible partnerships for developing ports in the South and South-East.
Atiku cited Yola, Adamawa State, as an example of the challenges created by the concentration of major import activities around Lagos.
He argued that goods destined for the North-East could be delivered much faster if southern ports were developed and connected to efficient transportation networks.
Atiku maintained that improving port infrastructure in the southern region would create a more balanced distribution system and reduce the burden imposed on businesses by the current logistics network.
