Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said that sharing bags of rice and spaghetti will not save the incumbent president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the 2027 election.
Atiku said currently, Nigeria’s democracy is being
systematically weakened by a dangerous consolidation of power under President
Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement released Tuesday, in Abuja, Atiku’s senior
special assistant on public communication, Phrank Shaibu, said, “What is
unfolding is not subtle, it is deliberate.”
According to the statement, at a time when over 30 state
governors have been drawn into the ruling party’s orbit, one would expect
confidence, openness, and a willingness to face genuine electoral competition.
Instead, what Nigerians are witnessing is the opposite: a growing pattern of
actions that suggest not strength, but fear—fear of credible opposition, fear
of free competition, and fear of the Nigerian voter.
“Why would a government with such overwhelming political
control still feel compelled to shrink the democratic space?
“The answer is becoming increasingly clear.
“Beyond coercing governors and political heavyweights into
its fold, the Tinubu administration already commands the instruments of state
power—the security architecture, the advantage of incumbency, access to the
national treasury, the perceived sympathy of segments of the judiciary, and a
pliable electoral environment. Yet, despite this overwhelming dominance, there
remains a visible anxiety about the opposition and, more importantly, about the
Nigerian people.
“Because deep down, they know this truth: stomach
infrastructure cannot substitute for public trust. Bags of rice, spaghetti, and
indomie may offer temporary relief, but they cannot secure legitimacy at the
ballot box. This attempt to reconfigure Nigeria to ‘Rice-geria’ will not help
these urban bandits; it will end in shame.
“Opposition parties have been destabilized by persistent
internal crises, many of which have been sustained through conflicting and
questionable judicial interventions. Court processes have, in critical moments,
produced outcomes that blur legal hierarchy and create confusion rather than
clarity.
“Electoral processes have not been spared. Administrative
decisions and interpretations have increasingly raised concerns about
neutrality, reinforcing a perception that key institutions are being aligned,
subtly but steadily, in favor of the ruling establishment.
“More troubling is the growing resort to crass and reckless
detention orders targeted at opposition figures—actions that raise serious
concerns about the misuse of state power to intimidate, silence, or sideline
dissenting voices.
“These are not coincidences. They are signals.”
Atiku, who is a prominent figure in the opposition African
Democratic Congress, ADC, said across the political spectrum, leading figures,
including himself, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abubakar Malami,
Nasir El-Rufai, David Mark, and Rauf Aregbesola, among others, were navigating
a political environment that is becoming visibly constrained, saying, “This is
not how a healthy democracy functions.”
“Let it be said plainly: a democracy where the ruling party
amasses overwhelming control and still works to weaken the opposition is a
democracy in distress.
“Atiku Abubakar remains committed to a Nigeria where
leadership is determined by the will of the people—not by pressure on
institutions, not by engineered party instability, not by the quiet rewriting
of the rules of engagement, and certainly not by crass and reckless detention
orders on opposition leaders.
“Democracy must not be reduced to a managed process.
“If the current trajectory continues, Nigeria risks sliding
into a system where elections exist in name but competition is effectively
neutralized—a one-party state in all but name.
“We call on Nigerians to recognize what is at stake. Power
must never be so concentrated that it fears accountability. Leadership must
never be so secure that it avoids contest.
“As 2027 approaches, the question is no longer abstract: Why
is a government with such vast control still afraid of a free and fair
election? Nigeria deserves an answer.
“And Nigerians deserve a choice”, he stated.
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