Nigerian Presidency dismisses Atiku Abubakar's border pledge as unhinged

Nigeria's Presidency has sharply criticized a campaign pledge by presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to open the country's borders, asserting that the borders are already open and dismissing his promise as a sign of desperation.

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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 14 March 2024, and it has not reversed that position.

Presidential Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, issued a statement Friday titled, ‘Atiku and the Borders: Nigerians Deserve Facts, Not Campaign Slogans.’ He argued that Abubakar's pledge demonstrates he is "unhinged" and willing to say anything to mislead voters.

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It is therefore difficult to understand which borders the former Vice President intends to open when the borders are already open.

Dare pointed out that the Federal Government officially reopened most of Nigeria's land borders on March 14, 2024, a decision that has not been reversed. He questioned which specific borders Abubakar intended to open, given the current status. The Presidency also noted that President Bola Tinubu personally inaugurated the Kamba border in Kebbi State on February 14, 2026, which yielded economic and diplomatic benefits.

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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.

Furthermore, the Presidency distinguished between "open borders" and "uncontrolled borders." Dare explained that modern border management aims to facilitate legitimate trade and movement while preventing criminal exploitation. He stressed the importance of immigration control, customs administration, intelligence sharing, surveillance, technology, and coordinated security operations. The statement highlighted the security risks associated with border porosity, particularly in regions like the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, citing the Global Terrorism Index which indicates a significant percentage of terrorist attacks occur near international borders.

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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.