Minister Tunji-Ojo Challenges Atiku on Border Claims

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior in Nigeria, publicly challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his campaign promise to reopen Nigeria's land borders if elected in the 2027 presidential election. In a statement dated August 29, 2026, Tunji-Ojo asserted that Nigeria's borders are not closed and therefore cannot be reopened.

He highlighted a series of official border reopenings, including the reopening of Seme, Illela, Maigatari, and Mfum on December 16, 2020, and further reopenings in 2022 and 2026 under the current administration. Tunji-Ojo refuted Atiku's framing of border issues, particularly regarding Cameroon, clarifying that certain closures were due to security concerns dating back to 2014, not the 2019 trade policy.

He emphasized that modern border management requires a balance of security and trade facilitation and called on Atiku to present a concrete proposal for border management rather than conflating distinct issues.