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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu over what he calls a blatant assault on democracy in Osun State.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Atiku accused the ruling party of orchestrating a violent takeover of local government secretariats using armed thugs and mercenaries.
He described the move as a desperate attempt to retain power through lawlessness, condemning the actions as a threat to democratic principles.
“Nigerians bore witness to a chilling display of lawlessness yesterday, as the Tinubu-led APC exposed the depths of its desperation to retain power at all costs — through sheer political brigandage and the subversion of democracy,” Atiku declared.
According to him, the APC attempted to forcefully seize control of all 30 local government area council secretariats while the party’s national leadership and the presidency remained silent and complicit.
He praised the resilience of Osun residents, who he said bravely resisted APC’s rampaging foot soldiers, preventing a complete subversion of their democratic rights.
“Let this be clear: Osun State will never bow to anti-democratic forces. The people have shown beyond doubt that they will not allow their electoral rights to be stolen, no matter the level of intimidation.
“We demand that security agencies deployed for Saturday’s elections uphold their constitutional duty with professionalism, refusing to be used as enforcers of APC’s criminal agenda.
“The world is watching. These are dangerous times. The APC has abandoned any pretence of democratic legitimacy, resorting instead to brute force in its bid to cling to power — even as the people have overwhelmingly rejected it,” Atiku stated.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and resist APC’s attempts to hijack democracy, stating that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
“The people demand governance, not chaos. Nigerians will not sit idly while their democracy is hijacked by a power-drunk regime intent on setting the country on fire. Enough is enough,” he concluded.