Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed remorse over his involvement in the creation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, stating that the country’s situation has deteriorated under the current administration.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Atiku recounted how opposition leaders had joined forces in 2014 to establish a united political platform aimed at addressing what they saw as mounting challenges during the tenure of 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, the major concerns at the time included insecurity and economic instability.
However, he argued that the current situation had surpassed those earlier challenges.
“In 2014, the major challenges were insecurity, the economy and so on. Now it is even worse than what we fought against,” Atiku stated.
He stressed the need for lessons to be learnt from the past, warning that any new political coalition must remain focused on restoring what he described as “true democracy” in Nigeria.
“We must have that in mind. We must succeed to make sure that we restore true democracy to our country,” he added.
The joint press conference themed: “Urgent Call to Save Nigeria’s Democracy,” brought together prominent opposition leaders including former Senate President David Mark, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Osun State Governor and two-time commissioner Rauf Aregbesola, Ireti Kingibe, Zainab Haruna, former Cross River Governor Liyel Imoke, among others.