Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of making production “increasingly expensive for farmers and manufacturers”.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu,
director of strategic communication of the ADC presidential campaign council,
Atiku said farmers are facing insecurity while manufacturers were struggling
with high production costs.
He also accused the administration of presiding over a
decline in agricultural export earnings, saying Nigeria is losing opportunities
to create jobs and retain more value from farm produce.
“Tinubu cannot call this reform when the people who grow our
food and the businesses that should process it are being squeezed from both
sides,” Atiku said.
‘N796.4BN REVERSAL IN ONE YEAR’
The ADC presidential candidate cited trade figures showing
that Nigeria’s agricultural trade moved from a N740.27 billion surplus in the
first half of 2025 to a N56.13 billion deficit in the corresponding period of
2026.
He described the N796.40 billion swing as a major reversal,
adding that agricultural exports fell by 33.3 percent during the period.
“The excuse that Nigerians simply imported too much will not
stand. Tinubu’s government must answer for the collapse in what Nigeria sold to
the world,” Atiku said.
“The country is losing export earnings, and the President
owes farmers, workers and businesses more than another speech about
prosperity.”
He questioned what the administration had done to make
farming safer, reduce the cost of moving produce, lower the cost of operating
processing plants and make Nigerian products more competitive abroad.
“Farmers cannot cultivate promises. Manufacturers cannot
power factories with speeches. Workers cannot feed their families on assurances
that prosperity is coming,” he said.
ATIKU CRITICISES RAW COMMODITY EXPORTS
Atiku said Nigeria’s leading agricultural exports still
include cashew nuts in shell and cocoa beans, arguing that the country could
retain more value by expanding domestic processing.
“We grow the crop. Someone else does more of the processing,
builds a business around it and earns the larger return,” he said.
“Then Tinubu speaks of jobs while Nigerian factories
struggle to compete. He has made production expensive and called the resulting
hardship reform.”
Atiku acknowledged that an agricultural trade deficit alone
does not explain every problem facing farmers, but said the administration
should take responsibility for decisions made since it came into office.
“A trade deficit alone does not explain every problem on our
farms. But after more than three years in office, the President owns the
decisions that have left farmers exposed and producers burdened,” he said.
Atiku said his proposed production subsidy for petroleum
products refined in Nigeria was based on the need to retain more production,
jobs and value within the country.
He said the proposed support would cover qualifying products
from Nigerian refineries, including modular refineries, while imported products
would not qualify.
According to him the subsidy would be capped, budgeted and
independently audited, with measures to track whether savings reach consumers
and businesses.
He also criticised the Tinubu administration’s compressed
natural gas (CNG) initiative, saying the cost of converting vehicles is beyond
the reach of many Nigerians and that conversion kits are difficult to access.
Atiku said buses presented as palliatives also remained
unavailable to many of the people who needed them.
“Local refining is about more than the price at the petrol
pump. Aviation fuel affects fares. LPG affects the cost of cooking. Petroleum
products and feedstocks affect industries and the people they employ,” he said.
Atiku said his administration would support farmers and
processors while promoting local refining.
“Grow it here. Process it here. Refine it here. Create the
jobs here. Make life affordable here,” he said.
He accused the Tinubu administration of leaving Nigeria
dependent on raw agricultural and crude oil exports while Nigerians pay high
prices for finished products.
“A government that cannot turn our resources into affordable
products and decent jobs has failed the people it was elected to serve,” Atiku
said.
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