2027: I’ll Reopen Borders, Develop Southern Ports If Elected, Says Atiku
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has promised to reopen Nigeria’s land borders and accelerate the development of ports in the South and South-East if elected president in 2027. Atiku, the African Democratic Congress ADC presidential candidate, pledged in a video shared online on Friday by ADC chieftain Dele Momodu. He said both policies are aimed at easing the movement of goods across the country and reviving trade-dependent livelihoods, particularly in the North and North-East
Border Reopening
Atiku blamed the 2019 border closure for crippling transborder trade with Nigeria’s neighbours, including Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic. He said many young traders who once operated businesses worth millions of naira and employed others have been forced into bankruptcy and unemployment. The Northern states border Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Benin Republic. And you close all those borders. All our young men who are doing trading between these countries… transborder trade is a legitimate business. He linked the closure to rising insecurity and unemployment, adding:
I am going to reopen the borders and I will.
Port Development Plan
On ports, Atiku said he had already begun engagements with European shipping and port development companies to expand capacity in the South and South-East. During the last campaign, I went across to Europe to discuss with shippers and ship development companies how we can together develop South and South-Eastern ports so that there is balance as far as importation of goods and transportation of goods are concerned. He used his factory in Yola, Adamawa State, as an example of the current logistics challenge. Containers shipped to Lagos, he said, take up to two months to reach Yola due to poor road networks and distance.
If I drop my container in Calabar or in Uyo or in Port Harcourt, it will just take me 24 hours to take the container to Yola. Atiku described the proposals as a direct response to long-standing complaints about high transportation costs and the underdevelopment of southern ports. Context
Nigeria’s border policy has seen several changes since the 2019 shutdown, which the Buhari administration said was necessary to curb smuggling of rice, poultry, petroleum products, weapons and drugs, and to boost local agriculture. Four border posts — Seme in Lagos, Illela in Sokoto, Maigatari in Jigawa and Mfun in Cross River — were reopened in December 2020.
In February 2026, the Tinubu administration reopened the Tsamiya and Kamba corridors linking Kebbi State to Niger Republic, with the Nigeria Customs Service promising stricter anti-smuggling controls. Several other border posts remain restricted or under tight surveillance.
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