The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has warned against the likelihood of Nigeria slipping to a one-party state.
The former Vice President made the remarks on Tuesday while playing host to the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC).
Atiku said: “The project of protecting democracy in our country is not about just one man.”
He therefore called on the opposition parties to merge and present a formidable front ahead the 2027 election.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, in Abuja.
While speaking, Atiku expressed fears that the moment a country becomed a one party state, democracy should be forgotten.
“You have come here today to say that we should cooperate in order 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, who tasked the leadership of IPAC, led by its national president, Yabagi Sani on the need for the opposition political parties to come together, further mooted the idea of presenting a formidable front that will salvage Nigeria’s 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,” Atiku said.
While speaking on behalf of other members of IPAC on the delegation, Sani, said that the group had chosen to come and pay courtesy visit to Atiku because according to him, the former Vice President is a true democrat and a political leader who treads the path of detribalisation and politics without violence.
In a related development, the People Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Umar Damagum has berated the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) over the just conclude off-cycle elections held in three states on Saturday.
The party while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday insisted that what transpired at the election has further confirmed the fears that has been laid on the umpire.
The elections according to him was reportedly marred by all sorts of violence, intimidation and high handedness.
