By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The Presidency has described former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as unhinged and accused him of making reckless promises to deceive unsuspected Nigerians.
Spear News reports that the former Vice President in an interview with BBC on Friday promised to open Nigeria’s land boarders to boost the economy.
However, in a statement titled “Atiku and the Borders: Nigerians Deserve Facts, Not Campaign Slogans,” the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, dismissed Atiku’s pledge to reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected in 2027 as disconnected from reality.
“The facts are straightforward: Nigeria’s land borders are already open,” Dare stated.
“The Federal Government announced the reopening of most of the country’s land borders on 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,” he added.
The Presidency noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu personally opened the Kamba borders in Kebbi State on February 14, 2026, with attendant economic and diplomatic gains.
Dare argued that if Atiku’s proposal refers to relaxing existing border controls, Nigerians deserve a detailed explanation of which specific controls would be removed and what security mechanisms would be deployed against terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking, and transnational organised crime.
“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,” the statement read.
The presidential aide stressed that an open border is not synonymous with an uncontrolled border, pointing out that modern border management facilitates legitimate trade while preventing criminals and terrorist organisations from exploiting porous entry points.
Citing the Global Terrorism Index 2026, the Presidency highlighted that approximately 41 per cent of terrorist attacks occur within 50 kilometres of an international border, and about 64 per cent within 100 kilometres.
“This is particularly important for Nigeria because our northern security environment cannot be divorced from developments across the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin,” the statement read.
“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,” it added.
The Presidency argued that Nigeria’s heavy security deployment along the Northeast and Northwest corridors should not be mistaken for closed borders but 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,” Dare said.
He further challenged Atiku to present a detailed alternative policy agenda rather than campaign slogans.
“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,” Dare stated.
The Presidency questioned the substance of Atiku’s broader campaign platform, saying he appears “increasingly preoccupied with promising to reverse, reopen, or rename initiatives already being implemented” rather than presenting Nigerians with a coherent alternative.
“Nigerians deserve a policy conversation grounded in facts. Nigeria’s borders must be open to legitimate commerce and movement, but secure against terrorists and criminals. They must be monitored with technology, led by intelligence, and integrated into the country’s broader national-security and economic strategy,” the statement concluded.
Discussion about this post