Former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar has condemned the All Progressives Congress (APC) threat to Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, saying if there is anybody who has crossed the line, its president Bola Tinubu.
Recall that APC spokesman Felix Morka had recently threated Mr Obi on National television over his assessment of the state of the nation under Tinubu’s watch in a New Year message.
The APC scribe claimed that the former Anambra governor had “crossed the line” and ended his tirade with the threat of “he has coming to him whatever he gets.”
Atiku described Morka’s comments as a “disturbing emblem” of the current administration’s strategy to stifle opposition voices.
“The choice of words used by the APC 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,” Atiku said.
According to the former Vice President, the role of opposition leaders is to demand accountability and improved governance, adding that a true democracy thrives on a healthy exchange of ideas.
He expressed alarm over Morka’s statement that Obi should “be ready for whatever comes his way,” calling on the APC to clarify this “chilling threat.”
He also slammed the APC spokesperson’s framing of Obi’s calls for constructive engagement, likening them to a lawless “Wild West” scenario.
To Atiku, the language was crude and unbecoming of a ruling party.
He urged the ruling party to issue a formal apology to Obi and the Nigerian public.
Atiku also criticised the continued detention Mahdi Shehu, who he said is in detention without clear justification.
He said the Tinubu administration’s actions are eroding fundamental freedoms and setting a dangerous precedent.
“If there is anyone who has truly ‘crossed the line,’ it is the Tinubu administration, whose continuous vilification of opposition figures as mere irritants to be crushed is a dangerous precedent,” Atiku said.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, called on Nigerians and the international community to demand an end to what he described as “the stifling of dissenting voices.”
He stressed that the survival of Nigeria’s democracy depends on the protection of free speech and opposition rights.
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