The Presidency on Friday faulted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s pledge to immediately reopen Nigeria’s borders if elected President, saying the country’s land borders are already open and challenging him to specify what he intends to change.

It also accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate of offering campaign slogans rather than a coherent alternative policy programme, arguing that many of the initiatives he has promised to reverse, reopen or rename are already being implemented by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, stated this in a statement titled, “Atiku and the Borders: Nigerians Deserve Facts, Not Campaign Slogans”, issued on Friday.

The Presidency was reacting to Atiku’s recent declaration that he would “open the borders” immediately upon assuming office.

Dare said the pledge was puzzling because the Federal Government had reopened most of Nigeria’s land borders since March 14, 2024, and had not reversed the decision.

“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”, he said.

The presidential aide also cited the reopening of the Kamba border in Kebbi State by President Tinubu on February 14, 2026, saying the measure had yielded economic and diplomatic benefits.

He said the former Vice President therefore owed Nigerians an explanation of which borders he intended to reopen or, alternatively, which existing border controls he planned to dismantle.

“It is therefore difficult to understand which borders the former Vice President intends to ‘open’ when the borders are already open”, Dare said.

According to him, if Atiku’s intention is to relax existing border controls, he should spell out the specific restrictions he would remove, why he believes they are unnecessary and what measures he would introduce to guard against terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking and other forms of transnational organised crime.

The Presidency stressed that opening borders to legitimate commerce and movement should not be confused with abandoning security and regulatory controls.

“An open border is not an uncontrolled border. Modern border management is designed to facilitate legitimate movement, trade and economic interaction while preventing criminals and terrorist organisations from exploiting the same channels”, Dare said.

He added that effective border governance required immigration and customs controls, intelligence-sharing, surveillance technology and coordinated security operations.

The Presidency described such safeguards as particularly important to Nigeria because of insecurity across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, noting that developments in neighbouring countries have implications for security within Nigeria.

It said Nigeria’s borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon required effective management because terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organised crime could exploit porous boundaries to spread across countries.

Citing the Global Terrorism Index 2026, Dare said about 41 per cent of terrorist attacks occur within 50 kilometres of an international border, while approximately 64 per cent take place within 100 kilometres.

He said border communities were especially vulnerable in areas characterised by difficult terrain, weak state presence and inadequate coordination among security institutions.

According to the Presidency, the increasingly transnational character of terrorist and criminal networks makes effective border management indispensable to Nigeria’s national security architecture.

It explained that criminal and terrorist groups exploit international boundaries partly because security forces cannot pursue them across sovereign borders without the necessary legal frameworks and cooperation between countries.

Dare consequently argued that the Federal Government’s security deployments along the Northeast and Northwest corridors should not be interpreted as evidence that Nigeria’s borders remain closed.

“Consequently, Nigeria’s focus on the Northeast and Northwest corridors, including the coordinated deployment of the Armed Forces and other security institutions, should not be misconstrued as evidence of closed borders. It reflects responsible border security”, he said.

The Presidency said Atiku, having previously served as Vice President, should understand the difference between keeping borders open for legitimate activities and maintaining controls necessary for national security.

It added that although political disagreement was legitimate in a democracy, pronouncements touching on national security and the economy should be founded on facts, institutional understanding and credible policy alternatives.

Dare said Nigerians should expect Atiku to explain how he would strengthen border surveillance and intelligence-sharing with neighbouring countries, modernise customs and immigration operations, deploy technology, protect border communities and deepen regional cooperation against terrorism and organised crime.

The presidential aide said the Tinubu administration was prepared to be scrutinised on its performance in security, economic recovery, border management and citizens’ welfare, but insisted that such scrutiny should be based on accurate information.

“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.

“That is the policy conversation Nigerians deserve”, he said.

The Presidency also launched a broader attack on Atiku’s policy pronouncements, questioning what fresh development agenda he was offering Nigerians ahead of the presidential election.

It accused the former Vice President of increasingly proposing policies that either replicate measures already being implemented by the Tinubu administration or promise to undo existing initiatives without providing detailed alternatives.

“But, increasingly, the former Vice President’s public outings and policy pronouncements raise a more fundamental question: what new and credible contribution does he intend to make to Nigeria’s development that is not already contained in the reform trajectory of the present administration?

“Rather than presenting Nigerians with a coherent alternative, Atiku appears increasingly preoccupied with promising to reverse, reopen, or rename initiatives already being implemented”, Dare asked.

The presidential aide also accused Atiku of making statements designed to appeal to voters rather than advance substantive policy debate, saying Nigerians deserved facts instead of campaign slogans.

“Atiku is unhinged now, and he would say or announce anything to attract and deceive the politically gullible”, Dare said. (The Nation)