The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections on Saturday saw a startlingly low voter participation, according to former vice president Atiku Abubakar**, who warned that Nigeria’s democracy is seriously threatened.
The head of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said in a statement released by the Atiku Media Office on Sunday that the turnout, which he said averaged less than 20% and that the Abuja Municipal Area Council recorded roughly 7.8%, is a concerning sign of waning public trust in the electoral process.

Atiku contended that the poor turnout in the country’s capital was a foreseeable outcome of what he described as a political environment characterized by intolerance, intimidation, and the weakening of alternative voices.

Through alleged harassment of dissenters and coercion of political players, the Waziri Adamawa accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu’s administration of purposefully reducing the democratic space.

Atiku warned that the nation is seeing more than just ordinary voter indifference, saying that “democracy begins to die when citizens lose faith that their votes matter.”

He warned that if the ongoing deterioration of participatory governance is not immediately addressed, it may cause long-term harm to Nigeria’s democratic foundations.

The former vice president emphasized that the situation goes beyond partisanship and urged opposition parties and pro-democracy organizations to unify and present a united front.

Party lines are no longer important in this situation; maintaining the Republic is. “Now is the time to unite in order to rescue and rebuild Nigeria,” the statement continued.