Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, now the presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has declared he'd reopen Nigeria's land borders if elected president. The pledge came in a video circulating online, which Dele Momodu, an ADC chieftain, shared.
Atiku stated that the closure of Nigeria's borders with neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Benin Republic has been a major blow to transborder trade. It's also a significant contributor to youth unemployment. He painted a picture of young entrepreneurs who once managed businesses with millions of naira in capital. They're now left bankrupt and jobless because their cross-border trading activities were halted.
"And you close all those borders. All our young men who are doing trading between these countries, they carry goods across, they do this and that, all what we call transborder trade is a legitimate business," Atiku said, questioning the impact on security. He stressed that many young people who were employing others have now gone out of business, asking, "How can there be security?"
He also outlined plans to improve the movement of goods through ports located in the southern part of the country. Atiku mentioned that during the last campaign, he met with European shippers and ship development companies. They discussed how to jointly develop South and South-Eastern ports. The goal, he explained, is to achieve a balance in the importation and transportation of goods. This will make it easier to move items across the nation.
Improving infrastructure in southern ports, according to the ADC candidate, would also cut down the time and cost of getting goods to the North-East. He used his own experience with a factory in Yola, Adamawa State, as an example. He explained that currently, moving a container from Lagos to Yola takes about two months. This is due to the long route and poor road conditions. However, he envisions that if goods could be dropped at ports in Calabar, Uyo, or Port Harcourt, it would only take 24 hours to reach Yola.
Nigeria's land borders were initially closed in August 2019 under former President Muhammadu Buhari. The government's stated reasons included tackling the smuggling of goods like rice, poultry, petroleum, as well as weapons and drugs. It also aimed to boost local agriculture. By December 2020, four borders were reopened: Seme in Lagos, Illela in Sokoto, Maigatari in Jigawa, and Mfun in Cross River. More recently, in February 2026, the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu reopened the Tsamiya border with Benin Republic in Kebbi State and the Kamba corridor linking to Niger.
At that time, the Nigeria Customs Service assured that measures would be in place to prevent smuggling and illegal activities. However, some borders have remained restricted or tightly controlled.
Atiku Abubakar served as the Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He has run for president multiple times. These runs include 2007, 2011, and 2019, previously as a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). His current run with the ADC marks a significant shift in his political career.