June 12: Lack Of Unity Among Opposition Threat To Democracy – Atiku

• Atiku acknowledged the sacrifices made by patriots who fought for the country’s transition from military to democratic rule.
• Atiku noted that the country has witnessed an uninterrupted season of electoral politics for 25 years, an unprecedented feat in Nigeria’s history.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubukar says disunity among opposition parties constituted the worst threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

In a post on his official X page on Wednesday, Abubakar accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of throwing the citizens into extreme poverty.

Having unsuccessfully dislodged the APC in the 2023 elections, Abubukar has been pushing for all political parties to unite to defeat the party ahead of the 2027 election.

On May 18, the former vice-president said he has been engaging Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, to discuss the possibility of a merger.

Atiku said he would support anyone chosen to represent the PDP in 2027 — even if the candidate is from the south-east.

Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, urged opposition paries to form a coalition to challenge the ruling party and articulate a plan for good governance.

Speaking on the occasion of the June 12 democracy day, Abubakar said that the country has witnessed an uninterrupted season of electoral politics for 25 years, an unprecedented feat in Nigeria’s history.

He congratulated the political class and civil society for their efforts in nurturing democracy, adding that “democracy is not yet virile if it continually fails to deliver the promises of prosperity and liberty to the people.”

Abubakar acknowledged the sacrifices made by patriots who fought for the country’s transition from military to democratic rule.

Abubakar said the secondary purpose of declaring every June 12 as Democracy Day in the country is to commemorate the history of the country’s long journey of becoming a stable democratic country.

“Truth be told, there’s no substitute to democracy as a form of government,” Abubakar wrote.

“Whereas our current democratic dispensation is a quarter of a century old, it will not be out of place to pay tributes to the sacrifices made by many patriots, chiefly among them Basorun MKO Abiola and his beloved wife, Alhaja (Mrs) Kudirat Abiola, Tafida Shehu Yar’Adua and Alfred Rewane, among many others.

“The historical timeline of the struggle that birthed this democracy is abundant with a series of coalitions and alliances amongst the political leaderships of that era to flush away the vestiges of military and dictatorial governance in order to return power to the people.