Omokri Warns Atiku: Reopening Borders, Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Fuel Smuggling

Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, Reno Omokri, has warned that reopening Nigeria’s land borders while restoring fuel subsidy could trigger large-scale smuggling of petroleum products and create additional security and economic challenges.

Omokri issued the warning in a statement on Friday while reacting to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s latest policy proposals ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku had said he would reopen Nigeria’s land borders and reintroduce fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.

The former vice president argued that reopening the borders would help revive cross-border trade, which he said had been affected by prolonged restrictions on some routes linking Nigeria with neighbouring countries.

Omokri, however, disagreed, warning that combining fuel subsidy with the reopening of all land borders could encourage extensive smuggling and worsen existing economic and security challenges.

He said:

“If you reintroduce fuel subsidy and simultaneously reopen all of Nigeria’s land borders, what you are doing is unleashing the greatest ever smuggling of petroleum products from Nigeria to neighbouring nations.”

Omokri recalled that during the era of fuel subsidy and relatively open borders, large quantities of subsidised petroleum products were allegedly transported illegally across Nigeria’s borders.

He claimed that approximately 25 million litres out of the 66.1 million litres supplied daily under the subsidised regime were smuggled out of the country.

He also alleged that commodities such as rice and poultry products imported through neighbouring countries were smuggled into Nigeria.

According to Omokri, such activities placed additional pressure on the country’s foreign reserves, weakened the naira and negatively affected domestic rice and poultry production.

The ambassador-designate further warned that reopening the borders without adequate security measures could expose the country to additional threats, particularly from terrorists and bandits.

He said:

“Even more than that, when you open Nigeria’s borders without restrictions, as has been proposed, you give terrorists and bandits a leeway to flood Nigeria with light weapons and ammunition, because the borders will be overwhelmed and our customs and immigration officials will be overstretched.”

Omokri noted that President Bola Tinubu had previously approved the reopening of selected land borders with the Niger Republic, including specific routes.

He cited the Tsamiya border in Kebbi State as one of the routes that had subsequently been reopened.

He said the government could eventually reopen all land borders once adequate personnel and security measures were in place.

“Once we have the personnel needed to secure our porous borders, we will eventually reopen all of them.

“But to reopen all borders without first securing them is to put Nigeria’s security and her economy at risk and portends great danger for Nigerian citizens,” he added.