– No government-backed clampdown on opposition – Tinubu’s aide
By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of using repressive techniques to stifle opposition voices forward of the 2027 elections.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP) within the 2023 polls, expressed concern over what he described as “a calculated assault” on opposition leaders and dissenting voices throughout the nation.
In accordance with a BBC Hausa report on Saturday, the previous Vice President cited the invitation of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, by the police, alongside assaults on some opposition figures, as a part of a broader transfer to weaken events that would problem the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) within the subsequent election.
Talking by his Particular Assistant on Media, AbdurRashid Shehu Sharada, Atiku stated Nigerians might clearly see the federal government’s try to make sure that no formidable opposition platform emerges earlier than 2027.
Sharada alleged that the ruling social gathering was exploiting divisions inside opposition ranks whereas deploying state equipment to intimidate opponents.
“From the assault on a former Minister of Justice in Kebbi State the place our ADC supporters have been brutalised, to the disruption of an elder’s safety assembly in Katsina led by Usman Bugaje, it’s apparent that the federal government is encouraging political thuggery,” he stated.
He added that the disruption of an ADC assembly in Kaduna, which El-Rufai attended, was significantly worrisome since no arrests have been made. As a substitute, he stated, the police selected to ask El-Rufai and different opposition leaders for questioning.
Nonetheless, presidential spokesman Abdul’Aziz Abdul’Aziz dismissed Atiku’s claims, insisting there was no government-backed clampdown on opposition.
He defined that El-Rufai’s police invitation adopted statements he made on the Kaduna occasion and studies of armed supporters in attendance.
“As for the incidents in Kebbi and Katsina, the federal government had no hand in them,” Abdul’Aziz burdened.
Political analysts, nevertheless, warn that each the ruling social gathering and opposition must train warning, because the rising political rigidity might undermine Nigeria’s fragile democratic stability.
The publish Opposition faces unprecedented persecution underneath Tinubu — Atiku appeared first on Vanguard Information.
