The Presidency has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his remarks comparing governance under the All Progressives Congress (APC) to a military dictatorship, describing the comments as misleading, exaggerated and harmful to Nigeria’s democratic legacy.
Gatekeepers News reports that reacting to Atiku’s comments, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said the former Vice President was “distorting history” and attempting to “delegitimise democratic outcomes” after losing elections.
Dare’s reaction followed statements attributed to Atiku at a public event in Abuja on Tuesday, where the former Vice President reportedly said the APC-led government was worse than military rule and “the poorest form of governance” he had witnessed in nearly four decades of political involvement.
The remarks were made at the launch of a book written by Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday, Dare said it was “deeply troubling” for a former Vice President who served under a constitutional democracy to equate democratic governance with military authoritarianism.
According to him, such claims “trivialise the painful experiences Nigerians endured during military regimes, when civil liberties were curtailed and dissent was often met with detention, exile or worse.”
He stressed that the ability of opposition figures to freely criticise the government, hold meetings and participate in politics clearly distinguishes democracy from dictatorship.
Dare further accused Atiku of using exaggerated rhetoric to erode public trust in democratic institutions whenever electoral results do not go in his favour, adding that policy disagreements should not be misrepresented as proof of authoritarian rule.
Defending President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the presidential aide said the current reforms, though difficult, were introduced by a democratically elected government that remains accountable to the Nigerian people.
