Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has declared that President Bola Tinubu plans to make the 2027 presidential election a ‘snatch and grab’ instead of making the votes of the people count.
Atiku, in his statement on Sunday, also said the reaction of President Tinubu to the opposition is worrisome and unbecoming of a democratic leader.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), added that the behaviour of the President and the presidency is a stark attack on Nigeria’s hard-won democracy.
OsunDailyNG reports Atiku’s submission comes as a direct response to an earlier statement from the presidency on Saturday, which declared that political opponents of President Bola Tinubu should wait till 2027 to test their popularity rather than heat up the polity now.
The Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, who dropped the note of caution, said the political opponents only attempted to use the President’s absence due to a trip to Tanzania to spread ill will.
He described the opposition politicians as “wannabes.”
In response, Atiku, through his media aide, Paul Ibe, said the Tinubu government is describing the opposition in the language of the dark ages. He maintained that the opposition leaders want the best for Nigeria’s democracy.
“Late in the evening of Saturday, 2 February, the Special Adviser on Public Communication and one of President Tinubu’s Spokespersons, Mr. Sunday Dare posted two comments on his verified X handle.
“The first post made a case for countries to tighten their belts on the heels of the announcement from President Trump’s administration to impose tariffs in line with his America First agenda, and the other post which came much later the same night tried to discredit the actions of political leaders in strengthening democracy and good governance in Nigeria.
“The second post is a lame attempt to impugn the credibility of political leaders who seek a better direction for Nigeria, and, in so doing, Dare painted a picture of what is to be expected in how the Tinubu administration plans to take the next election in the country as “a combat and a fight” or better still the deepening of their notorious “snatch and grab” agenda.
“It therefore becomes pertinent to tell the Tinubu administration that last week’s gathering of political leaders across the country is aimed at fostering the ethos of democracy in Nigeria; making sure that elections in Nigeria are credible and that democracy is the vehicle for progress and social justice in the country.
“We find it curious that the Tinubu government would react to these noble ideals as “Machiavellian inclinations.”
“If the Tinubu administration could describe opposition in a democracy in the language of the era of Dark Ages, we find such behaviour as unbecoming and a stark attack on the collective impression of our hard-won democracy and the fundamental human rights that it guarantees.”
Stop Making Careless Remarks
Speaking further, Atiku described the comments of the presidency about President Donald Trump’s approach to international trade as careless words.
He said the position of the presidency amounts to mocking Nigerians on issues of patriotism and misinterpreting Trump’s plan as it potentially affects Nigeria’s relations with the U.S. and other countries.
The PDP stalwart charged President Tinubu to stop causing hardship for the citizens and unite the people of the country.
“The other post by Dare speaks to the “Tariff War” – by which the Tinubu administration seeks to interpret President Trump’s America First approach to international trade.
“First of all, we condemn the careless remarks by the Spokesperson of President Tinubu on an issue that potentially affects Nigeria’s relations with the U.S. and other countries, including partner institutions in international trade.
“That aside, it is a contradiction in terms that the Tinubu administration, which came into power on the philosophy of self-right to rule, will mock Nigerians on matters of patriotism.
“We urge the Tinubu administration to practice what it preaches by embracing the Nigeria First ideals in replacement to the self-entitled and other primordial sentiments it panders to.
“Nigeria has gone through all kinds of class, ethnic and religious divisions since the advent of the Tinubu administration.
“This is the first government in the history of Nigeria that will put Nigerians on Band A or Band C on the cadre of access to social infrastructure.
“We therefore urge the Tinubu government to unite and heal the nation and desist from making careless remarks about other countries or the patriotism of the Nigerian people,” the statement concluded.
