Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday warned that Nigeria may become a one-party state.
The former vice president raised the alarm when he hosted the National Executive Committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC) in Abuja.
He urged opposition parties to rise to the challenges of democratic survival.
Atiku said: “You have come here today to say that we should cooperate to promote democracy.
“But the truth of the matter is that our democracy is fast becoming a one-party system; and, of course, you know that when we have a one party system, we should just forget about democracy.
Atiku charged IPAC, led by its national president, Yabagi Sani, to ensure the unity of opposition parties and create a more formidable front that will unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said: “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party. If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn.
Atiku chided the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting the worst ever general election in the country.
He said: “The Independent National Electoral Commission conducted the worst general election in the country.
Recently again in the off-season election in three states, INEC doubled down on its disregard for the tenets of our democracy.
“We all can see how INEC declared a result in Kogi State where the total number of votes cast is higher than the total number of accredited voters in one local government.
“We cannot have a healthy democracy in an environment where all INEC does is to deliver the ruling party at all cost.
“Until our elections pass the test of transparency through electronic voting, it will be difficult for INEC to regain its credibility, and our democracy will be the first casualty of such a situation.
Sani said the group had come to pay courtesy visit to Atiku because the former Vice President is a true democrat and a political leader who treads the path of detribalisation and politics without violence.
He said despite the shortcomings associated with elections, democracy remains the best form of government.
