By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Presidency has faulted a proposal by Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected president in 2027, insisting the country’s borders with neighbouring nations are already opened.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement on Friday, 28 August, 2026 in response to Atiku’s pledge to reopen shut land borders and introduce policies to ease the importation and movement of goods.
Dare said the Tinubu administration directed the reopening of most of the country’s land borders on Thursday, 14 March 2024, and that the directive had not been reversed.
“The facts are straightforward: Nigeria’s land borders are already open. The Federal Government announced the reopening of most of the country’s land borders on Thursday, 14 March, 2024, and it has not reversed that position. It is therefore difficult to understand which borders the former Vice President intends to ‘open’ when the borders are already open. On Saturday, 14 February, 2026 President Tinubu opened the Kamba border in Kebbi State, with attendant economic and diplomatic gains,” he said.
It had earlier been reported that Atiku pledged to reopen land borders that remain shut and develop seaports in the southern part of the country, in a bid to create a more balanced system for the importation and transportation of goods. Atiku, who has sought Nigeria’s presidency in six election cycles since 1993, said border closures had forced many businesses to shut down and worsened insecurity in the country.
During his 2023 presidential campaign, which he lost, he said he held discussions with shippers and ship-development companies in Europe to seek support for the development of ports in the South-south and South-east.
Nigeria’s busiest seaports remain concentrated in Lagos, a situation many consider an imbalance in the country’s import and export infrastructure, given that other southern states, including Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa, also have coastlines and access to the Atlantic Ocean.
Responding to the proposal, Dare asked Atiku to clarify whether he intended to relax existing border controls, insisting that Nigerians deserve to know precisely which controls he intends to remove, why their removal is necessary, and what safeguards his administration would deploy against terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking and other forms of transnational organised crime.
“If he means he would relax existing border controls, then Nigerians deserve to know precisely which controls he intends to remove, why he considers their removal necessary, and what safeguards his administration would deploy against terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking, and other forms of transnational organised crime,” he said.
Dare also described Atiku as “unhinged,” accusing him of making statements aimed at attracting and deceiving his supporters.
“This distinction is fundamental. But of course, Atiku is unhinged now, and he would say or announce anything to attract and deceive the politically gullible,” he said.
He argued that an open border does not equate to an uncontrolled border, stressing that modern border management is designed to facilitate legitimate movement, trade and economic interaction while preventing criminals and terrorist organisations from exploiting the same channels.
“An open border is not an uncontrolled border. Modern border management is designed to facilitate legitimate movement, trade and economic interaction while preventing criminals and terrorist organisations from exploiting the same channels. Effective border governance therefore requires a combination of immigration control, customs administration, intelligence-sharing, surveillance, technology and coordinated security operations. This is particularly important for Nigeria because our northern security environment cannot be divorced from developments across the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin,” he said.
Dare maintained that Nigeria must continue to prioritise security and prevent terrorists and criminal networks from exploiting porous borders, despite the borders remaining open.
“As Atiku rightly acknowledged, Nigeria shares borders with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. While the region continues to confront terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organised crime have proven to be domestic disturbances that have found border porosity as a channel for their export to other countries,” he said.
He cited the Global Terrorism Index 2026, which he said indicated that approximately 41 per cent of terrorist attacks occur within 50 kilometres of an international border, while about 64 per cent occur within 100 kilometres.
“Borderlands are particularly vulnerable where difficult terrain, limited state presence and weak coordination create opportunities for terrorist organisations to operate. The implications for Nigeria are obvious.
“As domestic insurgencies evolve into increasingly networked and transnational terrorist threats, effective border management becomes an indispensable component of national security. Terrorists and criminal networks exploit sovereign boundaries precisely because security forces cannot simply pursue them across international borders without appropriate cooperation and legal frameworks,” he said.
Dare clarified that the presence of security agencies in border communities does not mean the government has closed the country’s land borders.
“Consequently, Nigeria’s focus on the Northeast and Northwest corridors, including the coordinated deployment of the Armed Forces and other security institutions, should not be misconstrued as evidence of closed borders. It reflects responsible border security. The former Vice President, as an experienced politician who has previously occupied the second-highest office in the country, should know this distinction,” he said.
Dare insisted that political comments on national security and the economy should be grounded in facts and accompanied by a credible alternative policy agenda. He said Nigerians should expect Atiku to explain how his proposed administration would improve border surveillance, strengthen intelligence-sharing with neighbouring countries, modernise customs and immigration operations, deploy technology, protect border communities and deepen regional cooperation against terrorism and organised crime.
“While political contestation is legitimate in a democracy, statements about national security and the Nigerian economy should be grounded in facts, institutional understanding, and a credible alternative policy agenda. What Nigerians should reasonably expect from a presidential aspirant is not a slogan about ‘opening borders,’ but a detailed explanation of how his administration would improve border surveillance, strengthen intelligence-sharing with neighbouring states, modernise customs and immigration operations, deploy technology, protect border communities and deepen regional cooperation against terrorism and organised crime.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration remains open to scrutiny and should be judged by measurable outcomes in security, economic recovery, border management and citizens’ welfare. But such scrutiny must be based on facts,” he said.
Source: Premium Times
