Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed concern over what he described as declining democratic participation following the low voter turnout recorded in Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.
In a statement issued by his media office on February 22, 2026, in Abuja, the chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said turnout across the polls averaged below 20 per cent, with the Abuja Municipal Area Council recording 7.8 per cent participation.
Atiku described the development as a troubling indicator of Nigeria’s democratic health under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
In the statement titled “Democracy Under Siege: Tinubu’s Chokehold Is Suffocating the Republic,” he argued that the low turnout in the nation’s capital reflects a broader political climate.
According to him, “such abysmal civic participation in the nation’s capital — the symbolic heartbeat of the federation — is not accidental. It is the predictable outcome of a political environment poisoned by intolerance, intimidation, and the systematic weakening of opposition voices.”
He further alleged that the current administration has adopted policies that undermine democratic competition and pluralism.
“The Bola Tinubu-led APC government has pursued a deliberate policy of shrinking democratic space, harassing dissenters, coercing defectors, and fostering a climate where alternative political viewpoints are treated as threats rather than contributions to national development,” the statement said.
Atiku warned that waning public confidence in elections could weaken democratic institutions if not urgently addressed.
“When citizens lose faith that their votes matter, democracy begins to die,” he stated. “What we are witnessing is not mere voter apathy. It is a direct consequence of an administration that governs with a chokehold on pluralism. Democracy in Nigeria is being suffocated slowly, steadily, and dangerously.”
He cautioned that sustained erosion of participatory governance could undermine democratic gains built over decades.
“A democracy without vibrant opposition, without free political competition, and without public confidence is democracy in name only. If this chokehold is not released, history will record this era as the period when our hard-won freedoms were traded for fear and conformity.”
The former vice president called on opposition parties and democratic stakeholders nationwide to unite in safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic system.
“This is no longer about party lines; it is about preserving the Republic. The time to stand together to rescue and rebuild Nigeria is now,” the statement added.
