Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has stated that the highly anticipated 2027 presidential election will not be a contest between political parties, but rather a showdown between the Nigerian people and the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku made this remark in a statement on Friday while addressing the recent wave of defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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DIASPORA LENS recalls that on Wednesday, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori announced his defection from the PDP to the APC. On the same day, former PDP Vice Presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa also declared his move to the ruling party.
Reacting, Atiku noted that the “freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy, ” stating that “they are fundamental rights.“
Alongside these stand the pillars of a just and functional democratic society: the people, the rule of law, credible elections, and accountability. Undermine any of these, and democracy itself begins to crumble.
As someone who holds fast to these values, I bear no grudges against anyone for exercising their right to political alignment. Defections, alliances, and realignments are part and parcel of democratic politics. We’ve seen them before, and we’ll see them again.
The former Vice President expressed disappointment over the insults directed at him following his recent visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Let’s not rewrite history: Buhari is not only a former leader but a significant statesman in the Nigerian political landscape.
During the 2013 opposition merger, the leaders of the time consulted widely, including visits to Obasanjo and Babangida. So why is it now sacrilegious for me and other leaders to visit Buhari in Kaduna? If you truly believe in freedom of association, then you must respect the rights of all political actors to engage, regardless of party lines, he said.
He stated that the upcoming election is “not a battle between APC and PDP, or LP against APC, but a contest between Nigerians and an administration that has subjected the country to immense hardship, with the economy in a state of collapse.”
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Inflation is choking the masses. Jobs are vanishing. Youth restiveness is surging to terrifying levels. Nigerians are not just tired — they are angry, and rightfully so.
This moment is about collective survival. The real enemy is not one another — it is the Tinubu administration’s abysmal failure. We must reject every attempt to distract us with ethnic, regional, or religious sentiments.
These are tools of manipulation, designed to divide and conquer, used by those with nothing else to offer.
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