Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned that collapse of democracy in Nigeria will lead to fall of democracy in Africa.
Atiku in a remark at a joint press conference by opposition parties in Abuja on Thursday, noted that Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa.
He called on opposition leaders to unite and save democracy in Nigeria, adding, “we did this exercise in 2014.”
Atiku recalled that when opposition leaders came together and fought for democracy in 2014, it was because they faulty democracy in Nigeria, but regretted that the country ended up in the same position it found ourselves in 2014.
He advised that the speech delivered at the press conference should be sent to all the embassies, “particularly the Western democratic embassies in this country, to reflect the position of the Nigerian opposition political parties.
“We must bear it in mind that we must make sure we restore true democracy to our country.
“That was what we fought for. That was what the founders of this country fought for, and what we fought for in the military. We must make sure that it is established in this country.”
Former presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi said Nigeria needs genuine opposition party.
“There is no governance in Nigeria. The legislature is at its worst. The judiciary is no longer the hope of the weak or the poor,” he said.
Obi condemned spate insecurity, killings and abductions in the country, describing them as “worse than even in countries at war.”
Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark called on Nigerians to defend their votes and to make sure that their votes.
“We have learnt lessons from the FCT election. We have learnt them the hard way,” he said, and assured Nigerians that the “opposition will stand for the truth, will stand for justice, and will stand for free, fair, transparent and credible elections,” Mark said.
He warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against incarcerating opponents.
