The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate for the general elections of 2023, Atiku Abubakar, has said that the current All Progressives Congress (APC) is trying to weaken Nigerian democracy by pursuing a “snatch, grab and run” policy.
Atiku voiced worry that the ruling party’s policies are counter to democratic values, which call for tolerance of opposition and dissenting opinions, through his media adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe.
According to Atiku’s comments, a system must accept dissent and divergent viewpoints in order to be viewed as really democratic. He went on to add that the ideal definition of democracy is not limited to a representative government but rather is fundamentally anchored in the variety of ideas.
The former vice president pointed to examples of what he saw as the ruling party’s decreased engagement with the opposition, alleging that opposition parties are being systematically shut out of electoral processes and post-election legal proceedings where the judiciary seems to be biased in favor of the APC.
He drew attention to contentious court rulings in states held by the opposition, like as Nasarawa, Kano, Zamfara, and Plateau, implying a pattern in which the courts are said to provide what the governing party failed to do on election day.
Atiku claims that these events are concerning signals that call into question trust in the legal and electoral processes as well as a potential threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
These are worrying indicators that not only call into question our confidence in the legal and electoral processes, but also show that our democracy is under attack.
Furthermore, it is abundantly evident that the ruling party will not give up on its despicable philosophy of “snatching, grabbing, and running away with power.”
The fact that the Plateau governorship election petition is confirming the threat made by an APC lawmaker in a widely shared video—that the governing party will sabotage the legal system to secure its eventual win in court—makes the situation much more worrying.
It follows that our times are really dire and that there is a long road ahead of us if we are to save our democracy from these renegade power brokers.
It also implies that all morally upright men and women ought to unite for this shared national goal. He stated.
The alleged suppression of opposition in Lagos State, where Bola Tinubu is regarded as a political heavyweight, was also mentioned in the statement.
However, the current situation does not surprise us. Opposition turned into a death sentence in Lagos State, where Tinubu is revered as the godfather.
“Everyone was made to join his celebration, even the judges. The opposition members who were elected were subdued, even in the Lagos State House of Assembly where the lone PDP member was suspended and arrested in 2018 for running a gun, only to have the charges against him magically dismissed the moment he joined the APC.
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) recently abandoned a N135 billion lawsuit it had filed against an Anambra State opposition senator, less than a day after the senator switched to the governing party.
These are the rudimentary techniques that Bola Tinubu has used to thin down the opposition and strengthen his grasp on power.
Is it not odd that the same panel heard all of the Plateau State election petition cases that were brought before the Court of Appeal?
“Why does the court order the APC to be declared the winner in election cases where the PDP wins and the APC comes in second, but orders a rerun in election cases where the PDP wins and the Labour Party comes in second, giving the APC a chance to win?”
