FCT Poll: Low turnout shows democracy is being suffocated – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed concern over the low voter turnout in Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, saying the development showed democracy is being suffocated.

Reacting to the exercise in a statement by his media office, Atiku, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), described the turnout as a damning verdict on the health of Nigeria’s democracy under the current administration.

According to him, such abysmal civic participation in the nation’s capital was not accidental.

“It is the predictable outcome of a political environment poisoned by intolerance, intimidation, and the systematic weakening of opposition voices.”

He noted that the present administration 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.

“When citizens lose faith that their votes don’t matter, democracy begins to die,” Atiku 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.”

Atiku warned that the steady erosion of participatory governance, if left unchecked, could inflict irreversible damage on the democratic fabric painstakingly 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 forces across the country to urgently close ranks and forge a united front.

“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.”