Atiku Blames Tinubu for ₦796bn Agricultural Trade Collapse

Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, has leveled accusations against President Bola Tinubu regarding mismanagement of Nigeria's farming sector. He points specifically to a sharp reversal in the nation's agricultural trade position.

The country experienced an agricultural trade shift from a ₦740.27 billion surplus during the first half of 2025 to a ₦56.13 billion deficit in the same months of 2026. This represents a total swing of ₦796.40 billion.

On Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Phrank Shaibu, who serves as director of strategic communication for the ADC presidential campaign, issued a statement outlining these claims. Atiku pinpointed the downturn on what he termed failures affecting both agricultural and industrial policy sectors.

He contended that farming communities face ongoing security challenges of serious magnitude, whilst manufacturing enterprises grapple with elevated production expenses that render local output economically unviable. Rather than attributing this decline to outside economic forces, the former vice president blamed government choices and how they were executed.

To tackle these difficulties, Atiku put forth a proposal for production subsidies that would support and reinforce domestic farmers alongside food processors. His campaign's public statement drew on official trade figures in arguing that agricultural export performance has fallen substantially under Tinubu's administration.

This critique emerges as mounting food imports place mounting pressure on Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves and budgetary resources. Nigeria's agricultural sector continues holding vital importance within the broader economy and as a source of export revenue.

Atiku's public stance contributes to wider political discussion surrounding how the economy is being administered, even as the government maintains silence on these particular allegations regarding the agricultural trade statistics.