Osita Okechukwu, a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, saying his recent comments show he belongs to what he called the camp of anti-democrats.
His remarks came after Atiku told BBC Hausa Service that “if a younger candidate emerges through a competitive primary election, he would support and mentor such a person.”
Addressing reporters in Abuja on Friday, October 3, Okechukwu argued that Atiku’s preference for primaries over zoning disregards a key convention that has preserved Nigeria’s unity since 1999.
He recalled that Atiku himself was once a major beneficiary of zoning, yet later opposed the arrangement in 2014 when he secured the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket unchallenged by southern aspirants.
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Okechukwu said replacing zoning with what he described as a “dollarised primary” paraded as democracy was “the height of anti-democratic conduct.”
He stated, “Among the cardinal tenets of democracy, the first is the unity of our dear fatherland, and the second is the conduct of free and fair elections.
“Atiku is now waving expensive, monetised, and exclusionary primaries as his banner of democracy, while downplaying the very convention that guarantees equity, inclusion, and stability in our plural society.”
According to him, Atiku’s words confirmed fears that his quest for power is not about strengthening democracy but about weakening the principles that sustain Nigeria’s fragile political balance.