The opposition and the ruling All Progressives Congress are intensifying their political rivalry as 2027 approaches. Former vice president Atiku Abubakar on Monday described the judiciary as the biggest threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

He spoke as a panellist at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy, and Development (Centre LSD), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), and the National Peace Committee (NPC).

Alhaji Atiku was one of the discussants in the paper titled “Party Politics and Political Integrity: The Role of Political Parties and Opposition in Democracy” presented by Prof. Bayo Olukoshi, concluding that the reforms to curb judicial recklessness have yielded no result.

But the next day, the spokesperson of the ruling party, Mr. Felix Morka, responded, describing the former vice president as a sour loser whose ambition has thrown his party, the People’s Democratic Party, into disarray.Querying Alhaji Atiku’s credentials as a democrat, the APC said that “it was in the Atiku era as Vice President, particularly in 2003 and 2007, that the PDP conducted the worst elections in our political history. We cannot possibly forget how Atiku’s PDP heavy-handedly captured most South-West states and vowed to remain in power for 60 years.

“It was in those same years that Atiku’s former boss and then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, infamously described the election as a “do or die affair” in a desperate attempt to annex Lagos. If democracy was neither derailed nor endangered in those perilous days, is it now that elections are by far freer, fairer, and more credible that Nigeria risks losing democracy?

However, Alhaji Atiku’s focus was on the role of the judiciary in strengthening democracy. He noted that “The same judiciary that affirmed the primacy of parties in choosing their candidates and leaders now sanctions and indeed promotes the destruction of parties by a few, and in some cases, a single individual with a personal agenda.The judiciary also seems to have replaced the voters in choosing our leaders.

“The judiciary’s involvement in electoral disputes aimed to validate the voters’ choices. However, even at the highest levels, the judiciary manipulates technicalities to deny voters’ choices instead of confirming them.“I know enough of history to understand that when democracy dies, the judiciary and its leadership do not necessarily survive intact. The judiciary survived the implosion or death of our First Republic democracy mainly due to the presence of strong independent justices. It wasn’t for want of trying.

“However, as the corruption of every facet of our society deepened, the judiciary soon followed. He said it is perhaps the most dangerous because the aggrieved have nowhere else to turn.He alleged that there was no one to check the excesses of the other branches of government. “If the rot in our judiciary persists without severe consequence for the perpetrators, our parties and our democracy are unlikely to survive.”.

He contended that Nigeria’s democracy is facing a critical juncture.Simply put, there is a risk of complete erosion. It is not the result of a single individual or a single administration.“In fact, a number of us have been warning over the years that we may come to this pass if we lose our vigilance and fail to take corrective actions to protect and deepen our democracy,” he said.

He alleged that no other leader has been at the forefront of promoting democracy as much as he does.He said, “At the risk of sounding modest, I doubt that there are many contemporary senior political leaders who have spoken out and done more to promote democratic governance in our country than me. In addition to public statements and presentations, I brought some actions to our courts that produced landmark judicial decisions intended to uphold democratic principles and practices.

“Political struggles forced me to exert some effort. But much of my effort was because of two things: my participation among other leaders in the struggles to ease the military out of power and my deep and enduring belief that democracy is the best route to development and unity for our diverse country and peoples.”

APC Alleges That Atiku’s Responsible for PDP’s “Disintegration.”

The former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, like a badly broken record, has continued to point fingers at the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the festering rot in his party and the spectacular dysfunction of opposition parties generally.

“The judicial branch of government is a constitutional creation, like the executive and legislative branches, with its constitutionally defined powers to adjudicate disputes among citizens and between citizens and the state. Atiku can’t wish away or try to get rid of the court’s constitutional right to get involved in civil disputes, including election disputes, when someone legally asks the court to do so.

“It is a thing of irony that Atiku, who is Nigeria’s most prolific electoral litigator, would make such a ludicrous claim that judicial involvement in electoral matters is a threat to democracy. Given his long history of using the courts to further his political agenda, his criticism of the courts and the electoral process seems hollow. He should step back and allow the democratic process to unfold without his interference. Nigeria’s democracy is far stronger than Atiku’s political ambitions.

“We deserve better than petty politicking and alarmist rhetoric from an elder statesman. As a veteran politician, one would expect Atiku to understand that while democracy may be about winning elections, it is, more importantly, about respecting the will of the electorate and working towards the greater good of all. Atiku should focus on rebuilding his party and offering constructive solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.

“Atiku’s allegation that the APC-led administration was paying out 50 million Naira to some opposition figures is simply bogus and laughable. Atiku knows that his political desperation is responsible for the PDP’s catastrophic disintegration.

“Peddling rumours and unsubstantiated allegations should be beneath anyone in the standings of an elder statesman, a former vice president, and a serial contestant for the exalted office of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The bizarre suggestion by opposition figures like Atiku, Peter Obi, and, recently, aggrieved leaders like Mallam Nasir El-Rufai that our excellent party may be complicit in the internal corrosion of opposition parties is pitiful and only an incompetent alibi for their crass failure to manage their own affairs. They cannot govern their parties but tout their ability to govern Africa’s most populous country.As discerning citizens, Nigerians know better than to be distracted by the false alarms and hollow allegations of desperate politicians whose only goal is to shore up their political relevance in the build-up to the 2027 general elections.” Mr Morka said.