Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has promised to reopen Nigeria’s land borders and overhaul the country’s port network if elected president in 2027, and that easier cross-border trade and more efficient cargo movement would revive businesses, create jobs, and reduce the cost of transporting goods to the North.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the pledge in a video shared on Friday by ADC chieftain Dele Momodu.
He faulted the continued restrictions on some of Nigeria’s land borders, particularly those linking the country with Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Benin Republic. He said the controls had disrupted legitimate transborder commerce and pushed many young entrepreneurs out of business.
“The Northern states is bordering Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin Republic. And you close all those borders,” Atiku said.
He explained that many young Nigerians had previously built small businesses around cross-border commerce, employing other people in the process. The restrictions, he said, had wiped out such opportunities and aggravated unemployment.
“All the upcoming young men and women who used to have a capital of 10 million, 20 million, and they were employing two, three other people, and then all of them went bankrupt and unemployed. How can there be security?” he asked.
“So I said I am going to reopen the borders and I will,” he added.
Atiku also placed port development at the centre of his economic proposal, particularly the rehabilitation and expansion of facilities in the South-East and South-South.
He said he had previously held discussions with European shippers and ship development companies on ways to develop ports in the two regions and create alternatives to the concentration of cargo traffic around Lagos.
The issue, to him, is not simply about opening additional ports. He linked it directly to the cost and speed of moving imported goods to landlocked parts of the country.
He cited the movement of containers from Lagos to Yola, Adamawa State, where he said he owns a factory, as an example of the logistical difficulties facing businesses.
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“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,” he said.
“But right now, it takes me not less than two months to take my container from Lagos because you have to cross over from South-West, you go to North-East, and then there is even no road,” he added.
Nigeria’s land borders were largely closed in August 2019 under former President Muhammadu Buhari as part of measures to combat smuggling and stimulate domestic production. The policy affected the movement of rice, poultry products, petroleum products, and other commodities.
The government subsequently reopened selected crossings. Under President Bola Tinubu, the Tsamiya border with Benin Republic in Kebbi State and the Kamba corridor linking Nigeria with Niger Republic were reopened in February 2026.
Atiku’s proposal therefore comes amid an evolving border policy, with some crossings operating again while others face restrictions or tighter controls.
His plan combines two major changes: restoring cross-border commercial activity and spreading cargo handling beyond Lagos. He presented both as practical steps towards lowering logistics costs and expanding economic opportunities, especially for businesses serving northern markets.
