By Kingston Magare
Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar said the ruling party All Progressives Congress push to silence opposition in the country is a journey towards doctorship.
Atiku added in a statement also that the inflammatory language used by the party’s national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, against Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 was uncharitable and undemocratic.
The former Vice President was reacting to alleged threats to Mr. Obi’s life after making his feelings known in a new year message about the direction President Bola Tinubu was taking the country. Mr. Morka followed up with a threat during a recent interview saying: “Peter Obi has crossed the line so many times and has it coming to him whatever he gets.”
Atiku said in his statement that Morka’s remarks were a “disturbing emblem of the current administration’s unsettling strategy in addressing opposition figures”.
“This threat against Obi, coupled with the prolonged detention of Mahdi Shehu, a prominent voice of dissent and others, signals a worrisome shift towards an authoritarian governance model, where the rights of opposition voices are being suffocated,”- Advertisement –
“The choice of words used by the APC’s spokesperson, particularly the ominous suggestion that Obi has ‘crossed the line’, reveals an alarming disdain for democratic principles.
“Such language, rooted in hostility, has no place in a free society where civil discourse and engagement should reign supreme.
“A true democracy thrives on the healthy exchange of ideas, where the criticisms and contributions of opposition leaders, like Peter Obi, are seen as vital for the betterment of governance and the promotion of public accountability.
“It is not merely the right, but the solemn duty of a democratic government to listen attentively to the voices of its critics, to engage in meaningful dialogue, and to allow space for the articulation of alternative viewpoints.
“Such reckless and derogatory expressions cannot be tolerated, and it is incumbent upon the APC to issue a formal apology to Obi and the Nigerian people for such disgraceful language.
“The case of Mallam Shehu, languishing in detention without any clear explanation for his continued imprisonment, adds to the growing concern about the erosion of freedoms in Nigeria.
