Jonathan: ‘Things Are Worse Than We Fought Against In 2014’ – Atiku

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, expressed regret over his role in the formation of the All Progressives Congress in 2014, saying the country’s situation has deteriorated under the current administration.

Naija News reports that Atiku spoke in Abuja during a press conference attended by leaders of various opposition parties.

Recounting events that led to the formation of the APC, Atiku said opposition figures at the time united to confront what they perceived as growing challenges under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“We did this exercise in 2014, not so? We came together and formed APC because we felt democracy was faltering, only for us to end up at the same position we found ourselves in 2014, worse,” he said.

According to him, insecurity and economic instability were the dominant concerns at the time.

Atiku argued that the country’s present challenges have surpassed those that motivated the coalition in 2014.

“In 2014, the major challenges were insecurity, the economy and so on. Now it is even worse than what we fought against,” he stated.

The former vice president stressed that lessons must be learnt from past political alliances, warning that any new coalition must remain focused on safeguarding democratic values.

He charged opposition leaders to remain resolute in their pursuit of democratic reforms.

“We must have that in mind. We must succeed to make sure that we restore true democracy to our country,” he added.

The press briefing, themed “Urgent Call to Save Nigeria’s Democracy,” drew several prominent opposition leaders who gathered to address concerns about the state of governance and democratic institutions in the country.