Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday, labelled the ruling All Progressives Congress as “a party of forgers and riggers,” accusing it of undermining democratic processes in Nigeria.
Atiku spoke in Minna after a closed-door meeting with former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd.).
The meeting lasted nearly two hours, during which journalists and supporters waited outside the compound.
Reacting to the tax reforms proposed and gazetted by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, Atiku said Nigerians should not be surprised by the actions of the APC.
“What do you expect? APC generally is a party of forgers and riggers. They forge everything, certificates, age limits, they forge everything. That is the hallmark of APC,” he said.
The former Vice President also criticised the outcome of the Senate’s emergency plenary on electoral reforms, describing the decision on result transmission as disappointing.
He said, “First and foremost, it is below the expectation of Nigerians, because Nigerians were expecting real-time transmission of election results at the various levels.
“What we got instead is a mixture of electronic and manual transmission, which is going to cause more confusion and chaos than if we had a single-tier electronic transmission of results.”
Atiku, however, urged political parties to unite in pushing for credible reforms.
“We must come together to pursue this issue. We shouldn’t allow it to rest where they want it to rest. Absolutely not. I don’t support that,” he added.
On whether he would contest the 2027 presidential election, Atiku said the issue is not under consideration at the moment, noting that he is now a member of the African Democratic Congress.
“The question of contesting the 2027 election does not even arise. I am a member of ADC and we are busy ensuring our structures are firmly rooted at ward, local, state, and national levels,” he said.
The former Vice President also stated that the party is focused on mobilisation and registration of members nationwide.
Atiku further said the ADC does not operate zoning in its constitution, noting that zoning is formally entrenched only in the Peoples Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, also held a separate closed-door meeting with Babangida at the residence but declined to speak with journalists afterward.
