By Seun Ibiyemi
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the sharp reversal in Nigeria’s agricultural trade balance, saying the development reflects growing pressure on farmers, manufacturers and businesses across the country.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said 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 year-on-year reversal as evidence that the government had failed to sufficiently strengthen domestic production, processing and export capacity.
Atiku argued that the development was particularly concerning because Nigeria continues to export major agricultural commodities in largely unprocessed forms, thereby losing opportunities to create jobs, generate higher export earnings and retain more value domestically.
“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,” he said.
The former vice president said the deterioration could not simply be attributed to increased imports, insisting that the government should also explain the decline in Nigeria’s ability to earn more from agricultural exports.
“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. The country is losing export earnings, and the President owes farmers, workers and businesses more than another speech about prosperity,” Atiku said.
Atiku linked the challenges in agricultural production to insecurity, high transportation costs, energy shortages and rising operating expenses confronting manufacturers.
He questioned the measures taken by the administration to make farming safer, reduce the cost of moving agricultural produce and create a more favourable environment for local processing.
“What has his administration done to make it safer to farm, cheaper to move produce, easier to keep a processing plant running or more profitable to sell a finished Nigerian product?” he asked.
He added, “Farmers cannot cultivate promises. Manufacturers cannot power factories with speeches. Workers cannot feed their families on assurances that prosperity is coming.”
The ADC candidate said Nigeria’s continued reliance on exports of raw agricultural commodities, including cocoa beans and cashew nuts in shell, demonstrated the need for stronger domestic processing capacity.
“We grow the crop. Someone else does more of the processing, builds a business around it and earns the larger return,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria should move from exporting raw commodities to developing industries capable of processing them into finished products for both domestic consumption and export.
Atiku acknowledged that a trade deficit alone could not explain all the challenges facing Nigerian agriculture but maintained that the government should take responsibility for the economic environment created by its policies.
“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.
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The ADC presidential candidate also proposed a production subsidy for petroleum products refined domestically, arguing that the policy would help retain more production, jobs and economic value within Nigeria.
He said the proposed support would apply to qualifying petroleum products refined in Nigeria, including products from modular refineries, while imported petroleum products would not qualify.
According to him, the subsidy would be capped, provided for in the budget and independently audited, with mechanisms to monitor whether the resulting savings reach consumers and businesses.
Atiku said the proposal was based on the same principle he advocated for agriculture: encouraging domestic production and retaining more value within the Nigerian economy.
“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.
He also criticised the Federal Government’s CNG initiative, arguing that the high cost and limited availability of conversion kits had prevented many Nigerians from benefiting from the programme.
Atiku said his administration, if elected, would introduce what he described as a transparent production subsidy from its first day in office and extend similar support to farmers and processors.
“Grow it here. Process it here. Refine it here. Create the jobs here. Make life affordable here,” he said.
Atiku’s comments come as political parties and opposition groups intensify preparations for the 2027 presidential election, with economic management, food security, industrialisation, energy costs and job creation expected to remain major issues in the campaign.
