Opposition voices silenced, democracy at risk — Atiku speaks on FCT elections

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the low voter turnout in Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections, describing it as a sign that Nigeria’s democracy is under strain.

In a statement released Sunday from his Abuja office, Abubakar accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of creating an environment “poisoned by intolerance, intimidation, and the systematic weakening of opposition voices.”

“When citizens lose faith that their votes matter, democracy begins to die,” the former vice-president said. “What we are witnessing is not mere voter apathy. It is a direct consequence of an administration that governs with a chokehold on pluralism. Democracy in Nigeria is being suffocated slowly, steadily, and dangerously.”

Atiku warned that continued erosion of participatory governance could cause long-term damage to the democratic structures painstakingly built over decades.

“A democracy without vibrant opposition, without free political competition, and without public confidence is democracy in name only,” he added.

He further cautioned that if this suppression persists, history may record this era as one in which Nigeria’s hard-won freedoms were exchanged for fear and conformity.

The former vice-president called on opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to unite and strengthen efforts to “build” the country.

In the recent FCT council elections, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won five out of six chairmanship positions, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured the Gwagwalada council. The ADC did not win any chairmanship seats.