Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has fired a warning that handing out bags of rice and spaghetti won’t save President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Atiku said Nigeria’s democracy is under serious threat because power is being dangerously concentrated under Tinubu.
In a statement released Tuesday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said, “what is unfolding is not subtle—it is deliberate.”
The statement said that even though over 30 state governors are now under the ruling party, Nigerians should expect transparency and real competition. Instead, what’s happening shows fear—not strength. Fear of credible opposition, fear of free elections, and fear of the Nigerian voter.
“Why would a government with such overwhelming political control still feel compelled to shrink the democratic space? The answer is becoming increasingly clear,” Atiku said.
He added that the Tinubu government already controls the security forces, enjoys incumbency, has access to the treasury, courts sympathetic to its cause, and a pliable election system. Yet, “there remains a visible anxiety about the opposition and, more importantly, about the Nigerian people.”
“Because deep down, they know this truth: stomach infrastructure cannot substitute for public trust. Bags of rice, spaghetti, and indomie may offer temporary relief, but they cannot secure legitimacy at the ballot box. This attempt to reconfigure Nigeria to ‘Rice-geria’ will not help these urban bandits, it will end in shame,” the statement said.
Atiku also highlighted the mess within opposition parties, often worsened by conflicting and questionable court rulings that blur legal clarity. Administrative decisions in elections have also raised doubts about neutrality, making it seem like state institutions are quietly siding with the ruling party.
He warned about the increasing use of “crass and reckless detention orders” against opposition figures, showing a worrying misuse of power to intimidate and silence dissent. “These are not coincidences. They are signals,” he said.
The former VP, now a key figure in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said leaders across parties—including himself, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abubakar Malami, Nasir El-Rufai, David Mark, and Rauf Aregbesola—are navigating a shrinking political space. “This is not how a healthy democracy functions,” he stressed.
He went on: “Let it be said plainly: a democracy where the ruling party amasses overwhelming control and still works to weaken the opposition is a democracy in distress.”
Atiku said he remains committed to a Nigeria where leadership is decided by the people’s choice—not by pressure on institutions, engineered party crises, quiet rule changes, or reckless detention of opposition leaders.
“Democracy must not be reduced to a managed process. If the current trajectory continues, Nigeria risks sliding into a system where elections exist in name but competition is effectively neutralised—a one-party state in all but name.”
He urged Nigerians to see what’s at stake: “Power must never be so concentrated that it fears accountability. Leadership must never be so secure that it avoids contest.”
“As 2027 approaches, the question is no longer abstract: Why is a government with such vast control still afraid of a free and fair election? Nigeria deserves an answer. And Nigerians deserve a choice.”
