APC is sliding Nigeria into dictatorship – Atiku calls for merger of opposition parties

A former vice-president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has called on opposition parties in the country to form a coalition to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abubakar said Nigeria needs a strong opposition to stop the APC from “turning the country into a one-party state.”

Speaking on Tuesday, November 14 when he received a delegation from the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC), Abubakar said Nigeria’s hard-earned democracy will ”suffer” if APC isn’t checked.

“You have come here today to say that we should cooperate in order to promote democracy,” he said.

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.

“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.

“The project of protecting democracy in our country is not about just one man.”

Atiku also criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the conduct of the general and cycle polls.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission conducted the worst general election in the country,” Abubakar alleged.

“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 costs.

“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.”