Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised serious concerns over the low voter turnout recorded during Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, describing the development as a disturbing sign of Nigeria’s weakening democracy.
In a strongly worded statement shared by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said the turnout, which reportedly averaged below 20 percent across the councils and fell to as low as 7.8 percent in Abuja Municipal Area Council, reflects a growing loss of public trust in the electoral process.
He described the figures as a damning verdict on the health of Nigeria’s democracy under the current administration, warning that the nation’s capital, often regarded as the symbolic heartbeat of the federation, has now become a mirror of widespread political disillusionment.
According to Atiku, the low participation is not accidental but a predictable outcome of a political environment he claimed has been poisoned by intolerance, intimidation, and the systematic erosion of opposition voices.
He accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress of pursuing policies that shrink democratic space, harass dissenting opinions, and create a climate of fear that discourages civic participation.
“When citizens lose faith that their votes matter, democracy begins to die,” Atiku said. “What we are witnessing is not mere voter apathy. It is the direct consequence of an administration that governs with a chokehold on pluralism. Democracy in Nigeria is being suffocated — slowly, steadily, and dangerously.”
The former presidential candidate warned that the continued erosion of participatory governance could inflict lasting damage on Nigeria’s democratic foundations, which were painstakingly built over decades.
He stressed that a functional democracy must thrive on competitive politics, active citizen engagement, and confidence in electoral institutions, adding that without these elements, democracy exists only in name.
“A democracy without vibrant opposition, free political competition, and public confidence is democracy in name only. If this chokehold is not released, history will remember this era as the period when our hard-won freedoms were exchanged for fear and forced conformity,” he stated.
Atiku also issued a rallying call to opposition parties and pro-democracy forces across the country, urging them to close ranks and form a united front to defend Nigeria’s democratic system.
“This is no longer about party politics. It is about the survival of the Republic. The time to stand together to rescue and rebuild Nigeria is now,” he declared.
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