Lai Mohammed said Atiku, with his border reopening promise, has informed millions of rice farmers that they will soon lose their jobs
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, promised to reopen Nigeria’s border if elected president.
Some analysts have claimed that the continuous border closure stifled trade, closed businesses and undermined local industries.
But Information, Culture and Tourism Minister, Lai Mohammed, faulted the plans, saying the border closure policy if reversed, would be counter-productive.
He said the PDP candidate, in his desperation for power, plans to allow more arms peddlers and merchants to bring in more light weapons into the country.
Reminding the one-time vice president that the border closure measure was taken by the President Buhari Muhammadu administration to shore up local production, especially in the agriculture sector, Lai Mohammed warned a reversal of the policy will lead to loss of jobs in rice mills and fertilizer plants.
Lai Mohammed, at the presentation of the Buhari administration scorecard on police reforms, said the border closure has shored up productivity in Nigeria, and limited the inflow of weapons.
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Lai Mohammed said: “Please permit me to use this opportunity to respond to the unfortunate comment credited to His Excellency, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, during his campaign stop in Katsina on Tuesday that he will reopen all Nigerian borders if elected President.
“By that statement, Atiku has simply informed Nigerians that he will reverse all the efforts made by the PMB administration to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of many staples, especially rice.
“By that statement, the former Vice President has informed the country’s millions of rice farmers that they will soon lose their jobs when imported rice floods the country.
“By that statement, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, has told the hundreds of thousands of Nigerians working in the various rice mills that have sprung up under this administration that their jobs are over.
“By that statement, Alhaji Atiku will shut down most, if not all, of our new fertilizer blending companies, with thousands of jobs going down the drain.
“And by his declaration, the former Vice President has told Nigerians that he will worsen security in the country by allowing arms and ammunition to flow unhindered into the country.”
The minister said it was clear Atiku was desperate to get millions of Nigerians into the unemployment market.
He added: “In case His Excellency Atiku Abubakar is not aware, the PMB Administration has increased the number of fertilizer blending plants in the country from 10 in 2015 to 142 today; the rice mills in the country from 10 in 2015 to 80 integrated rice mills today. In addition, 10 large-scale integrated rice mills are currently being built across the country.
“His Excellency Atiku Abubakar may also want to know that while Nigeria was the number one export destination for rice in 2014, our country has now moved to number 79, according to Thai authorities.
“By throwing open the borders indiscriminately as he has pledged, Atiku Abubakar has simply announced that he intends to return Nigeria to the number one importer of Thai rice in 2023!
“It is now clear that in his desperation for power, the presidential candidate of the PDP will not hesitate to export Nigerian jobs, put millions of Nigerians out of job, and ruin the fertilizer companies and the rice mills that have grown exponentially in number since Nigeria shut its land borders in 2019 (with some of them later reopened) due to the smuggling of rice as well as arms and ammunition into the country.”
The minister urged Nigerians to beware of Atiku’s desperation for power.
He said: “For sheer expediency, Alhaji Atiku, a former Customs Officer who rose to the pinnacle of his career, is ready to erase the gains made since 2015 in pushing Nigeria closer to self-sufficiency in the production of staples.
“Out of desperation, he is ready to worsen the security situation in Nigeria by throwing open all the borders and allowing a massive inflow of small arms and light weapons into the country.
“Only an inordinately-ambitious candidate will wish to return Nigeria to an era of massive importation of food, to the detriment of local farmers, and an era of unbridled inflow of weapons.
“This is a red flag to Nigerians who, in line with the admonition of President Muhammadu Buhari, have been striving to produce what they eat and eat what they produce.”