The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of presiding over a collapse in Nigeria’s agricultural export earnings.
Atiku in a statement by Director, Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, recalled that Tinubu promised that his administration would build a productive economy, but said it has left Nigeria selling crops abroad without capturing enough of the processing jobs and value they could generate at home.
“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,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President noted that Nigeria’s agricultural trade rose from a ₦740.27 billion surplus in the first half of 2025 to a ₦56.13 billion deficit in the first half of 2026, a ₦796.40 billion reversal in one year.
He added that agricultural exports also fell by 33.3 per cent, faster than imports.
“The excuse that Nigerians simply imported too much will not stand.
“The country is losing export earnings, and the president owes farmers, workers and businesses more than another speech about prosperity,” Atiku stated.
He demanded to knwo what the administration has done to make it safer to farm in the country, or cheaper to move produce, keep a processing plant running or more profitable to sell a finished Nigerian product abroad.
The ADC candidate observed that Nigeria’s leading agricultural exports still include cashew nuts in shell and cocoa beans, but regretted that while Nigeria grows the crop, someone else does more of the processing, builds a business around it and earns the larger return.
Atiku said his proposed production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria is aimed at domestic production, work and value at home.
“The support would cover qualifying products from Nigerian refineries, including modular refineries. Imported products would not qualify. It would be capped, budgeted and independently audited, with measures to track whether savings reach consumers and businesses,” he explained.
According to him, Tinubu administration’s CNG initiative has failed abysmally as a relief measure, as the cost of converting vehicles is beyond the reach of many poor Nigerians, conversion kits, difficult to access, while the buses presented as palliatives remain unavailable to many of the people who need them.
“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.
“Nigerians need practical relief they can actually access, not schemes whose costs and shortages put the promised benefits out of reach. The value of our resources must reach Nigerians beyond the refinery gate.
“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 assured.