The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization on Saturday told the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, that the closure of the nation’s land borders as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 worsened the country’s economic situation and cost Nigeria its place as the leading power in West Africa.
This assertion is contained in a statement issued by its Director, Public Affairs, Senator Dino, Melaye, which described the action as a scam.
Recall that Mohammed had slammed the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, Atiku Abubakar, over his plan to reopen the nation’s borders if elected, saying that the former Vice President’s intention is to reverse the gains made by President Muhammadu Buhari, thus worsening insecurity and unemployment.
The Minister alleged that Atiku’s plan will lead to unhindered importation of arms to compound insecurity in the country, counterproductive to the effort to achieve self-sufficiency in food production, lead to shut down of fertilizer plants and cause farmers to lose their jobs.
Also recall that President Buhari had in August 2019 ordered the closure of the nation’s land borders over the proliferation of illegal importation of drugs, small arms and agricultural products into Nigeria from neighbouring West African countries.
However, in 2020, the President ordered the phased reopening of the borders starting with Seme in Lagos, Illela in Sokoto, Maigatari in Jigawa, and Mfum in Cross River.
Responding to the Minister’s allegation, the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign stated: “Against the backdrop of the rising price of rice, coupled with unmitigated insecurity, the ever-conscious and discerning Nigerians have found out that the closure of Nigeria’s land borders by Buhari and the APC administration was a scam and a failed policy, the lying dexterity of Lai Mohammed, Buhari’s Minister of information notwithstanding.
“One of the touted gains of the border closure, according to APC, is the phantom rice revolution arising from containing smuggling of imported rice through border closure. Curious Nigerians are, however, wondering why rice is now more expensive and unaffordable during and after the border closure.
“Nigerians are also feeling scammed because insecurity and arms smuggling that was part of the justifications for border control has become so intractable that Katsina State, including President Buhari’s community, has become the kingdom of bandits.
“It is tactless of Lai Mohammed and APC to be contending with His Excellency Atiku Abubakar on issues of border management and control, an area in which the presidential candidate of PDP exudes exceptional competence. It is painful that rather than bow in contrition over the abundant and abysmal policy failures of his Party and administration, the tepid counterpoise of Lai Mohammed is to categorise His Excellency Atiku Abubakar as ‘inordinately ambitious’.
“It was the same siding that has kept the APC rolling rapidly on the course of administrative perdition, as it failed to heed the counsel of Atiku on NNPC and other key socio-economic issues. Only the PDP and Atiku can bail Nigeria out of its current habitation in intensive care.
“Nigerians are not fooled or oblivious to recall the hardship, loss of market dominance in West Africa, and the stifling of the operations of Nigerian industries while the border closure lasted. Such was the negative consequence that a Committee under the Buhari administration advised it against the counterproductive effect of a badly conceived and ignorantly implemented policy.
“If the policy worked, why were the critical land borders re-opened? It reflects a lack of creativity, poor imagination, idleness and indiscretion to attack His Excellency Atiku Abubakar for saying that his administration would keep the borders open as a benefit of the hard lessons that the Buhari administration learnt through its characteristic error of judgement.
“The Atiku Campaign Structure is not only happy that the Katsina outing provoked restlessness in the APC, but that it offered our Presidential Candidate the opportunity to enunciate policies that showed the light out of the darkness and reversal to the stone age that APC has cast Nigeria in the last seven and a half years. Truly the message hit the right chords
“Nigerians are assured that under the leadership of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, all regional trade treaties will be pursued with efficiency. In this regard, both the African Continental Free Trade Area( AfCFTA) and the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme ( ETLS) will be implemented to National and regional advantages. The border management agencies will also be equipped with appropriate technological tools and hardware, to contain smuggling, illegal immigration and arms trafficking.
“Now that His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s Katsina outing has jolted Alhaji Lai Mohammed back to consciousness and stirred him out of his hibernation, he can again safely revert to his recluses, maintaining the dictum that silence is golden.”
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