Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party, urging opposition parties to unite and save the country.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, spoke in a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, on Tuesday.
The former Vice President made the remarks when he hosted the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria.
“You have come here today to say that we should cooperate in order to promote democracy. But the truth of the matter is that our democracy is fast becoming a one-party system; and, of course, you know that when we have a one party system, we should just forget about democracy,” he stated.
He added that “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party. If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn.”
Atiku berated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for allegedly conducting the worst general election in the country. “Recently again in the off-season election in three states, INEC doubled down on its disregard for the tenets of our democracy.
“We all can see how INEC declared a result in Kogi State where the total number of votes cast is higher than the total number of accredited voters in one local government. We cannot have a healthy democracy in an environment where all INEC does is to deliver the ruling party at all cost.
“That is also why I will urge you all, to appeal to lawmakers of the various opposition parties in the National Assembly to sponsor legislation that will advance the course of the constitutional and electoral reforms agenda that I shared in my recent press conference.
“The issue of electronic voting must be the urgent priority of the National Assembly because countries that are far less advanced as Nigeria are already doing it.”
Atiku tasked IPAC, led by its National President, Yabagi Sani, on the need for the opposition political parties to come together and create a more formidable front that will salvage Nigeria’s democracy from sliding into a one-party state.
Sani, while speaking on behalf of other members of IPAC, said “notwithstanding the glaring shortcomings associated with our elections, democracy remains the best form of government.”
