In a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, said he is appalled at the images coming out of Ekiti State in the last few hours.
The influential Adamawa state politician said that behaviours such as experienced in Ekiti were an uncivil assault on democracy and falls short of democratic best practices.
The 2019 presidential aspirant said that the current administration came into being because the preceding PDP Federal Government ensured free and fair elections at all levels.
He said, "Having been a beneficiary of such propriety, it is incumbent on the Federal Government not to deprive others of the ladder it was provided by its predecessors.
"Free, fair and credible elections are not a privilege. They are a right! The peaceful congregating of the good people of Ekiti State, be they members of the All Progressives Congress or the Peoples Democratic Party or of any other party, must be allowed by the Federal Government."
I am appalled at the images coming out of Ekiti. The Federal Government should ensure that everything is done to preserve our hard-earned democracy.
- Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) July 11, 2018
Atiku observed that it was not in the place of the government to harass, intimidate, hound and humiliate political opponents in an election, adding that what government should do was to provide a level playing ground and guarantee the security of the electorate and the principal political actors in the election.
