The All Progressives Congress has insisted that Nigeria’s democracy remains stable and secure, rejecting claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that the country is facing an existential democratic threat.
The ruling party described Atiku’s comments as alarmist and ironic, arguing that democratic institutions are functioning normally under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The APC was responding to a statement issued on Tuesday by Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, in which the former vice president accused the Federal Government of weakening opposition parties and shrinking democratic space in a manner that could tilt Nigeria towards a one party state.
Atiku also alleged that Nigerians had endured almost three years of severe economic hardship under the Tinubu administration, alongside policies and political actions he claimed were eroding democratic values.
Reacting on Thursday in Lagos, the Lagos State APC spokesman, Seye Oladejo, said Atiku and leaders of the African Democratic Congress were “afraid of their own shadows” and were exaggerating issues to remain politically relevant.
Oladejo maintained that since May 29, 2023, democratic institutions had continued to operate as provided by the Constitution. He said elections had been conducted, courts had adjudicated disputes, the legislature had exercised oversight, and citizens had continued to enjoy constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.
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According to him, the opposition has spoken freely, protested freely, and sought redress in court without hindrance, which he said were not the characteristics of a country under democratic siege.
“Nigeria’s democracy is not under threat. What is under threat is the opposition’s fading relevance,” Oladejo said, urging opposition figures to stop predicting the collapse of a system that has continued to mature despite repeated warnings of doom.
He further argued that the ADC was showing signs of internal collapse driven by contradictions, personal ambition, and the absence of a unifying ideology. Oladejo said beneath the loud rhetoric and manufactured outrage was a fragile coalition united mainly by presidential ambition, with each key figure nursing private expectations.
“No political house built on sand can withstand the internal turmoil that follows unchecked ambition without ideology,” he said, adding that it was misleading to blame the ruling party for what he described as the visible desperation of ADC leaders ahead of future elections.
Oladejo reminded critics that winning and losing were natural parts of the democratic process and that democracy does not fail because individual ambitions are frustrated.
He said the current opposition coalition appeared short lived and warned that what Nigerians were witnessing was not a defence of democracy but the final struggle of a political arrangement weakened by fear, impatience, and declining public relevance.
Reaffirming the APC’s position, Oladejo said Nigeria’s democracy remained resilient and firmly rooted under President Tinubu’s leadership. He added that ongoing reforms, though demanding, were anchored on constitutional order, the rule of law, and democratic accountability.
He advised Atiku Abubakar and his allies to face political realities honestly, insisting that Nigeria was not afraid and democracy was not collapsing.
According to him, it is only the opposition that is unsettled by the reality that Nigerians have moved on.
