The Presidency has pushed back firmly against comments by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar likening governance under the All Progressives Congress (APC) to military dictatorship, dismissing the comparison as reckless, historically flawed and damaging to Nigeria’s democratic credentials.
Reacting to the remarks, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Mr Sunday Dare, said the former Vice President’s position amounted to a deliberate misreading of history and an effort to discredit democratic outcomes following electoral loss.
Atiku was quoted as making the remarks on Tuesday in Abuja at the public presentation of a book authored by African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi. At the event, the former Vice President reportedly described the current administration as worse than military rule and the poorest system of governance he had encountered in nearly 40 years of political engagement.
In a statement shared on his verified X handle yesterday, Dare expressed concern that a politician who once occupied the nation’s second-highest office under a constitutional order would draw parallels between an elected government and military authoritarianism.
According to him, such rhetoric diminishes the gravity of Nigeria’s past under military regimes, a period marked by the suspension of civil liberties, suppression of dissent and the routine use of detention, exile and coercion to silence opposition voices.
He argued that the prevailing political climate sharply contrasts with those dark years, noting that opposition figures today freely criticise government policies, organise meetings and participate actively in the political process without fear of repression.
Dare further accused Atiku of resorting to exaggerated narratives each time electoral contests do not go his way, warning that policy disagreements, no matter how intense, should not be misrepresented as proof of authoritarian rule.
Defending the administration of President Bola Tinubu, the presidential aide maintained that the ongoing economic and institutional reforms, though demanding and sometimes unpopular, are being pursued within the framework of democratic accountability.
He stressed that the Tinubu government derives its mandate from the ballot and remains answerable to Nigerians, insisting that robust debate, not inflammatory comparisons, should define opposition engagement in a democracy still consolidating its gains.
