Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the deterioration in Nigeria’s agricultural trade balance, accusing the government of leaving farmers exposed while the country increasingly depends on imported food and raw agricultural products.
Atiku said Nigeria’s agricultural trade position 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.
The change represents a N796.40 billion reversal, while agricultural exports reportedly fell by 33.3 per cent during the period.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku argued that the figures reflected deeper problems affecting farmers, manufacturers and the wider economy.
He said insecurity, high costs of transporting farm produce and the expense of running processing facilities were making it harder for Nigerian producers to compete.
“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.
He argued that Nigeria was losing potential earnings by exporting agricultural commodities in their raw form instead of processing them locally and capturing more value.
Atiku specifically cited commodities such as cashew nuts in shell and cocoa beans, saying greater domestic processing would create more jobs and allow Nigerian businesses to retain a larger share of the value generated from the country’s agricultural resources.
“We grow the crop. Someone else does more of the processing, builds a business around it and earns the larger return,” he said.
The former vice president also criticised the government over the cost of production, arguing that farmers and manufacturers were struggling with conditions that make local production more expensive.
“Farmers cannot cultivate promises. Manufacturers cannot power factories with speeches. Workers cannot feed their families on assurances that prosperity is coming,” Atiku said.
Atiku Proposes Local Refining Subsidy
Atiku also linked his criticism of agriculture and manufacturing to his proposal for a production subsidy on petroleum products refined within Nigeria.
Under the proposed policy, qualifying products from Nigerian refineries, including modular refineries, would receive the support, while imported petroleum products would not qualify.
He said the subsidy would be capped, included in the budget and independently audited, with mechanisms put in place to determine whether the benefits were reaching consumers and businesses.
According to Atiku, the policy would be designed to keep more production, jobs and economic value within Nigeria.
He also criticised the Tinubu administration’s compressed natural gas (CNG) programme, arguing that the high cost of vehicle conversion and limited access to conversion kits had prevented many Nigerians from benefiting from the initiative.
“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 proposed approach would focus on ensuring that Nigerians could access the benefits of the country’s natural resources rather than seeing the value exported or captured elsewhere.
Atiku Promises Support for Farmers and Processors
The ADC candidate said an administration led by him would introduce what he described as a transparent production subsidy from its first day in office and extend similar support to farmers and processors.
“My administration will begin restoring a transparent production subsidy from Day One. We will back farmers and processors with the same determination. Grow it here. Process it here. Refine it here. Create the jobs here. Make life affordable here,” he said.
Atiku maintained that Nigeria’s broader economic problem was its continued dependence on exporting raw materials while importing finished products at higher costs.
“Tinubu’s record is becoming painfully clear: Nigeria supplies raw crops and crude oil while Nigerians pay dearly for finished goods,” he said.
His comments come as official trade data show that Nigeria’s agricultural exports declined more sharply than imports during the first half of 2026, resulting in the sector’s return to a trade deficit.
