Yemi Obafemi
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Tinubu administration of deliberately undermining Nigeria’s democracy through the suspension of elected officials, warning that such actions are part of a broader strategy to compromise the people’s mandate ahead of the 2027 elections.
Atiku, in a statement on his X handle, cited the suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as well as the six-month suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Governor Fubara and other state officials were suspended on March 18, 2025, following political unrest in Rivers State, with President Bola Tinubu declaring a state of emergency. The emergency rule ended on September 17, 2025.
Similarly, Akpoti-Uduaghan only returned to her office at the National Assembly on Tuesday after the Senate leadership lifted her suspension, six months after it was imposed.
“It is reassuring that the voice of reason has prevailed at last with the unsealing of the office of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“Though the precious time denied the people of Kogi Central in the Senate can never be reclaimed, this struggle has not been in vain. It has proven, once again, that when we stand together, we can triumph over tyranny.”
“The suspension of Governor Simi Fubara and lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the unlawful suspension of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the weaponisation of state institutions to harass and intimidate opposition voices are not isolated acts.
“They are deliberate markers of the Tinubu administration’s strategy as 2027 approaches: to subvert our hard-earned democracy and compromise the will of the people at any cost.
“Let it be clear: on our part, we shall do everything legitimate and within the bounds of the law to protect our democracy, defend the sovereignty of the people’s mandate, and rescue our nation from the grip of authoritarianism,”Atiku wrote.
