Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has expressed regret over the role he played in the political coalition in 2014 that unseated former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Atiku also said that the decision to work against Jonathan in 2014 did not yield the democratic progress he and others had envisioned.
The former vice president who revealed his regrets on Thursday in Abuja at a press conference with the theme; “Urgent Call to Save Nigeria’s Democracy” particularly expressed regrets over his involvement in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2015 general elections.
He pointedly said that the country’s condition has deteriorated beyond what it was prior to the APC’s emergence.
The event which was attended by key political stakeholders, civil society advocates, and members of the media, served as a platform for Atiku to reflect on Nigeria’s political trajectory over the past decade as well as outline what he described as the urgent need to rescue the nation’s democratic institutions.
While reflecting on events that led to the coalition of opposition parties in 2014, Atiku noted that key political actors united under the APC platform to challenge the administration of then President Jonathan over insecurity concerns and economic instability.
The former vice president said the coalition was driven by the fears that democratic governance was weakening and that urgent steps were needed to redirect the country’s trajectory.
In his words; “We came together in 2014, because we believed democracy was faltering. The issues then were insecurity and the economy. But today, the situation has become even worse than what we set out to correct”.
Atiku emphasised that the present realities in the country surpassed the challenges that informed the formation of the APC more than a decade ago.
He further said; “Lessons must be drawn from past political alliances. Any fresh coalition or opposition movement must be deliberate and focused on rebuilding democratic institutions and restoring public confidence in governance. We must ensure that whatever steps we take now are aimed at restoring true democracy in Nigeria”.
