Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said the poor voter turnout recorded in Saturday’s area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory reflects a political atmosphere “poisoned by intolerance, intimidation, and the systematic weakening of opposition voices”.
In a statement released on Sunday through his media office in Abuja, the former vice-president alleged that the administration of Bola Tinubu is narrowing Nigeria’s democratic space.
“When citizens lose faith that their votes matter, democracy begins to die,” the statement reads.
“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.”
Abubakar cautioned that the continued decline in participatory governance could cause lasting harm to the democratic foundation built over the years if not addressed.
“A democracy without vibrant opposition, without free political competition, and without public confidence is democracy in name only,” he said.
“If this chokehold is not released, history will record this era as the period when our hard-won freedoms were traded for fear and conformity.”
The chieftain of the African Democratic Congress called on opposition parties to come together and strengthen collaboration in order to “build” the country.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress recorded a dominant performance in the council polls, winning five of the six chairmanship seats. The Peoples Democratic Party secured victory in the Gwagwalada area council.
However, the ADC, which serves as a coalition platform for opposition figures, failed to win any chairmanship position in the election.