Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed regret over his role in the 2014 political coalition that led to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that the country’s current situation has deteriorated beyond what it was when the alliance was formed.
Atiku made the remarks on Thursday in Abuja during an opposition stakeholders’ meeting convened to deliberate on reforms to the new Electoral Act and the state of Nigeria’s democracy.
Reflecting on the events that culminated in the merger of opposition parties in 2014, he explained that the coalition was driven by concerns that democracy was faltering at the time.
“We were without caution, you see, we did this exercise in 2014. We came together and formed APC because we felt democracy was faulty in 2014,” he said.
However, the former vice president lamented that the present realities in the country not only mirror but, in his view, surpass the challenges that prompted the merger more than a decade ago.
“Only for us to end up in the same situation we found ourselves in 2014, even worse,” Atiku stated.
According to him, insecurity and economic instability were the dominant concerns in 2014, but the nation’s current condition has become even more troubling.
“In 2014, the major challenge was insecurity here and there, economy and so on and so forth. Now it is even worse than what we fought in 2014,” he added.
Atiku stressed the need for renewed unity among opposition forces to safeguard Nigeria’s democratic process, particularly amid ongoing debates over electoral reforms.
“We must have that in mind that we must succeed to make sure that we restore true democracy in our country,” he said.
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