Atiku Abubakar Critiques Nigeria's Agricultural Trade Deficit

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticized the Federal Government for the significant reversal in Nigeria's agricultural trade balance, which shifted from a ₦740.27bn surplus in the first half of 2025 to a ₦56.13bn deficit in the same period of 2026, marking a ₦796.40bn decline. Atiku attributed this downturn to failures in government agricultural and industrial policies, emphasizing that Nigeria continues to export raw agricultural commodities without sufficient value addition through processing.

He stated that agricultural exports had declined by 33.3% during this period, while imports also fell but at a slower rate. Atiku challenged President Bola Tinubu's administration, asserting that the government could not solely blame increased imports for the decline in export earnings.

He identified insecurity, high production costs, and inadequate domestic processing conditions as major challenges for farmers and manufacturers. Atiku's comments were made through a statement from Phrank Shaibu, the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.