With APC in Power, democracy is in Danger— Atiku

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, lamented on the type of democracy being practiced in Nigeria, saying the country is at a cross road with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in power.

Atiku made the statement while speaking at a conference organized by the National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, stated that state capture by the APC has made it nearly impossible to achieve democratic change. He stated that with the ruling party, Nigeria’s democracy is in danger.

“There’s no doubt that our democracy is at a crossroads. Put simply, it is at the risk of eroding completely. And it is not caused by one single person or one single administration,” the former VP said.

“In fact, a number of us have been warning over the years that we may come to this pass if we lose our vigilance and fail to take corrective actions to protect and deepen our democracy.

“At the risk of sounding modest, I doubt that there are many contemporary senior political leaders who have spoken out and done more to promote democratic governance in our country than me.

“In addition to public statements and presentations, I brought some actions to our courts which produced landmark judicial decisions intended to uphold democratic principles and practices.

“Some of that effort was thrust upon me by circumstances of political struggles. But much of my effort was because of two things: my participation among other leaders in the struggles to ease the military out of power; and my deep and enduring belief that democracy is the best route to development and unity for our diverse country and peoples.

“Democracy is characterised by, among other things, people’s freedom to choose their leaders; periodic elections, which partly ensure leaders’ commitment to the welfare of the governed, leaders’ acceptance of guardrails (without restraints leaders tend to accumulate and abuse power); consequences for non-compliance, including rejection at the polls.