{"id":36778,"date":"2026-08-29T12:32:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=36778"},"modified":"2026-08-29T12:32:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:32:33","slug":"nigeria-presidency-challenges-atiku-over-border-reopening-pledge-ahead-of-2027-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/29\/nigeria-presidency-challenges-atiku-over-border-reopening-pledge-ahead-of-2027-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Presidency Challenges Atiku Over Border Reopening Pledge Ahead of 2027 Election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.openai.com\/static-rsc-4\/rayu0v6cvpg4NzLldWcKSowBEThKVolPXqyekGrvm4nFKDHR0IMwXAHoTDNNX1pc4YkQSJOx0hQfL9DXlBRmlQxu_1u8CI0X1khdXdf3VF37LW-64vBfLr9IFamfFwGlFui6SV2kTrwBAt46HD6rZKxcPSZFR_03KZeoa9ikEqp8khkA7C4Zl6dmXRx-fGhB?purpose=fullsize\" alt=\"https:\/\/images.openai.com\/static-rsc-4\/rayu0v6cvpg4NzLldWcKSowBEThKVolPXqyekGrvm4nFKDHR0IMwXAHoTDNNX1pc4YkQSJOx0hQfL9DXlBRmlQxu_1u8CI0X1khdXdf3VF37LW-64vBfLr9IFamfFwGlFui6SV2kTrwBAt46HD6rZKxcPSZFR_03KZeoa9ikEqp8khkA7C4Zl6dmXRx-fGhB?purpose=fullsize\" style=\"width:902px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>ABUJA, Nigeria \u2014<\/strong> Nigeria\u2019s presidency has rejected a campaign pledge by opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to reopen the country\u2019s land borders if elected in 2027, saying most crossings are already open and demanding that he explain which restrictions he intends to remove. In a statement issued by presidential media adviser Sunday Dare, the government said, \u201cNigeria\u2019s land borders are already open,\u201d while also using sharply personal language to describe the former vice president and accusing him of misleading voters. Atiku is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, or ADC, challenging President Bola Tinubu\u2019s governing All Progressives Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Atiku had said in a campaign video circulated by the ADC and party supporters that restrictions at Nigeria\u2019s borders had damaged legitimate cross-border commerce, pushed small traders out of business and contributed to unemployment and insecurity. He described \u201ctransborder trade\u201d as a legitimate source of income for Nigerians doing business with neighboring Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin and promised to reopen crossings that remain shut. Atiku also proposed developing ports outside Lagos, particularly in southern and southeastern Nigeria, to reduce transportation bottlenecks and spread economic activity more evenly across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.openai.com\/static-rsc-4\/FVyJjFOnHoI-G_ohcaoZsLvMR-NclOKtGyNbxaB2BXkWKe92Sv5sKp6O1fJz5ONCeQzY-QvpNjAcB79QewiL0J1R8t9xOvdkaptF32kKfBw1kcM3NEour-uWBnB35rfONpm8Mynjjfl1K50ml_HdnPM-zbi7TG5JBURazKZLN8KaSul2KQFdxeu3t7JARBvP?purpose=fullsize\" alt=\"https:\/\/images.openai.com\/static-rsc-4\/FVyJjFOnHoI-G_ohcaoZsLvMR-NclOKtGyNbxaB2BXkWKe92Sv5sKp6O1fJz5ONCeQzY-QvpNjAcB79QewiL0J1R8t9xOvdkaptF32kKfBw1kcM3NEour-uWBnB35rfONpm8Mynjjfl1K50ml_HdnPM-zbi7TG5JBURazKZLN8KaSul2KQFdxeu3t7JARBvP?purpose=fullsize\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The presidency disputed Atiku\u2019s description of the situation, saying the federal government reopened most land borders in March 2024 and that Tinubu opened the Kamba crossing in Kebbi state in February 2026. Dare asked whether Atiku was instead proposing to loosen customs, immigration or security controls and, if so, how his administration would prevent arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking and militant movements. The presidential statement also described Atiku as \u201cunhinged\u201d and accused him of trying to deceive politically susceptible voters, escalating the increasingly personal exchanges between the two camps as the 2027 campaign gathers momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dispute reflects a more complicated history than either campaign slogan suggests. Former President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a major partial closure of Nigeria\u2019s land borders in August 2019, saying smuggling of rice, weapons, narcotics and other prohibited goods was harming local producers and threatening national security. Four major crossings were reopened in December 2020 and another four in April 2022. Nigeria again closed its border with Niger in 2023 as part of sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States after Niger\u2019s military coup, before Tinubu ordered that border reopened in March 2024. Restrictions on certain imports and customs enforcement remained in place even after crossings reopened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.openai.com\/static-rsc-4\/Zw5TU4tjDMjzd-HMxfEfAFgSEHB2sXwTTkAO3zInFvWMxvxTatYVPWzwDeYEBySZthZLjePYVNfFrtYayYu3zUx3uTJGAgp6tqbGgcJSt4MCYjV3IquUvIo-aGwUXR21JRFFEYyQuX5xFumR9uJ3Lfyp_ItXh1L5S2h9uY6GI920nnV62fz-MalEiPHSN3K5?purpose=fullsize\" alt=\"https:\/\/images.openai.com\/static-rsc-4\/Zw5TU4tjDMjzd-HMxfEfAFgSEHB2sXwTTkAO3zInFvWMxvxTatYVPWzwDeYEBySZthZLjePYVNfFrtYayYu3zUx3uTJGAgp6tqbGgcJSt4MCYjV3IquUvIo-aGwUXR21JRFFEYyQuX5xFumR9uJ3Lfyp_ItXh1L5S2h9uY6GI920nnV62fz-MalEiPHSN3K5?purpose=fullsize\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is also some uncertainty about the status of individual crossing points. Premium Times reported that it could not establish precisely which Nigerian border posts, if any, remained closed and said a Nigeria Immigration Service spokesperson declined to clarify their current status. That distinction matters because a country can have formally open international borders while individual posts remain restricted or goods remain subject to import bans and security controls. Nigeria\u2019s long frontiers are also central to regional security: armed groups and trafficking networks operate across parts of the Sahel and Lake Chad region, making cooperation with Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin an important element of Nigeria\u2019s fight against insurgency, kidnapping and organized crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The border argument is likely to resonate beyond Nigeria because Africa\u2019s most populous country is a major market and transport hub in West Africa, where informal and formal cross-border commerce supports millions of livelihoods. Policies that restrict movement can hurt traders and regional supply chains, while weak controls can provide opportunities for smugglers and armed groups. The emerging 2027 debate therefore presents voters with competing priorities: Atiku is emphasizing freer movement of goods, jobs and regional trade, while Tinubu\u2019s administration says legitimate commerce must be combined with intelligence, surveillance and tighter security management. How each side turns those positions into detailed policy could become an important economic and national-security issue in the presidential campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ABUJA, Nigeria \u2014 Nigeria\u2019s presidency has rejected a campaign pledge by opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to reopen the country\u2019s land borders if elected in 2027, saying most crossings are already open and demanding that he explain which restrictions he intends to remove. In a statement issued by presidential media adviser Sunday Dare, the government [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3,1138],"tags":[23210,22902,11781,663,19026,23209,23211,564,306],"class_list":["post-36778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news","category-politics","tag-adc-nigeria","tag-atiku-2027","tag-atiku-abubakar","tag-bola-tinubu","tag-nigeria-2027-election","tag-nigeria-border-reopening","tag-nigeria-borders","tag-nigeria-politics","tag-sunday-dare"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36778"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36780,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36778\/revisions\/36780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}