“The prolonged closures on the Cameroon border, at Banki and Amchidé, did not arise from the 2019 trade policy at all. They date to 2014, when Boko Haram forced their closure for security reasons,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that the crossings were reopened in 2019, while Fotokol and Gambaru followed in 2021 after joint military and stabilisation efforts by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
“Folding this separate, security-driven history into one continuous 2019 shutdown misrepresents two distinct issues, trade regulation and counter-insurgency, as a single failure,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo acknowledged that some northern crossings were not yet operating without restrictions, attributing the situation to continuing security challenges in some areas.
“Not every northern crossing is fully unrestricted today. Where banditry or residual insurgent activity persists, tighter control is a deliberate security judgement, not neglect,” he said.
He warned that reopening border crossings ahead of improvements in the security situation could expose traders and border communities to greater risks.
The minister argued that effective border management should combine security, documentation, customs compliance and trade facilitation, rather than being based on either complete closure or unrestricted movement.
“Modern border management is not a choice between total closure and unrestricted movement; it requires security, documentation, customs compliance and controlled trade facilitation together,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo also challenged Atiku to provide details of his proposed border policy if elected president, rather than presenting the country’s trade, security and infrastructure challenges as a single issue.
“If he has a new border proposal, he should set it out and explain how it differs from the current approach, rather than treating separate trade, security and infrastructure issues as one and the same,” the minister said.
He further cautioned against using political competition to alter the account of recent developments in Nigeria’s border management.
“Political competition should not become a competition to rewrite recent history,” Tunji-Ojo said.
Atiku, who has sought to become President in six election cycles since 1993, had also proposed the development of seaports in the South-South and South-East to address what he described as an imbalance in Nigeria’s import and transportation infrastructure.
During his campaign for the 2023 presidential election, which he lost, Atiku said he had held discussions with shippers and ship-development companies in Europe to seek their support for developing ports in the South-South and South-East.
Nigeria’s busiest seaports are concentrated in Lagos, while coastal states such as Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa also have access to the Atlantic Ocean.
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