. . . Says President silencing opposition

Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria?s former Vice President, has accused President Bola Tinubu of packing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with his loyalists to stifle opposition, ahead of the 2027 general election.

The former Vice President in a statement on Wednesday, also accused President Tinubu of infiltrating the opposition parties by planting his cronies.

According to him, the opposition parties now found themselves fighting for survival, infiltrated by fifth columnists who have been planted within their ranks, ensuring that no party ? whether APC or opposition ? remains capable of functioning independently of the president?s whims.

?Moreover, the Tinubu administration continues to consolidate its power by packing the Independent National Electoral Commission with loyalists, further hollowing out the institution?s independence and integrity.?

Abubakar, also noted that through Tinubu?s unchecked actions, he continues to blur the line between state power and personal ambition, magnifying his control over both the nation and its institutions.

?The fact that the APC has become a mere extension of Tinubu?s will is a matter of little consequence. What truly alarms political observers ? both inside and outside the APC ? is the president?s calculated and insidious strategies to systematically cripple any form of social or political opposition.?

The former Vice President recalled how he had previously warned against these actions which are a direct threat to the future of Nigeria?s democracy.

He noted that rather than address the issues he raised, President Tinubu?s men chose to malign the former Vice President

?This was not a mere lapse in decorum, but a repeated symptom of a party gripped by paranoia and struggling under the weight of its own tarnished credibility.

?If there is any political figure in Nigeria who truly embodies the essence of desperation, it is none other than President Tinubu himself.

He, therefore, called on the ruling All Progressive Congress APC to work on modalities for addressing the challenges facing the nation

Atiku Abubakar who noted that Tinubu rose on the back of activism to rise to the limelight, wonders why the President will work against the structure that produced him

?It is an irony most bitter that a man who once rose to prominence on the back of civil activism and the call for democratic renewal has now found himself in opposition to the very ideals that birthed his political career.

?This shift from proponent to adversary of multi-party democracy is both tragic and dangerous.

He noted, however, that his prophetic warnings had already begun to manifest.

?He was among the first to call attention to President Tinubu?s plans to populate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with members of his own political party, the APC. Today, the nation bears witness to this very scheme unfolding before our eyes.?

Atiku also raised alarm over the president?s blatant conflict of interest, particularly the awarding of lucrative contracts to companies with direct ties to his family.

He also recalled how he cautioned the nation against the authoritarian tendencies of the Tinubu administration, warning that it sought to suppress fundamental human rights by charging protesters with treason ? a tactic eerily reminiscent of repressive regimes of the past.

?These warnings, though dismissed by some at the time, have proved prescient as each one materialises into a clear pattern of authoritarian behaviour by the current administration.

?It is with a heavy heart and a sharp admonition that we urge the ruling party to stand before the mirror and gaze upon the true face of desperation ? a face that mirrors their own actions and ambitions.? (BusinessDay)

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