Atiku slams Tinubu, Wike over blocked PDP event in Abuja

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of undermining democratic institutions and attempting to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general election. Atiku made the allegation on Saturday while reacting to the decision of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to deny the Peoples Democratic Party access to a public event centre in Abuja for the affirmation of its presidential candidate. In a statement issued by the Atiku Media Office, the former vice president described the action as an abuse of power and part of a broader strategy by the Federal Government to suppress political opposition. According to him, the incident reflects what he called a growing pattern of intolerance towards opposition parties under the Tinubu administration. “The action of Minister Wike to deny the PDP the opportunity from holding an event in line with its constitutional right represents a blatant abuse of the party’s rights and an unacceptable infringement on the freedom of association and peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),” the statement said. The controversy comes amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 elections, with opposition parties increasingly raising concerns over what they describe as attempts to restrict political space and tilt the electoral environment in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress. Atiku argued that public facilities should be accessible to all Nigerians regardless of political affiliation and accused the FCT Administration of acting in a partisan manner. “Private and public facilities in the Federal Capital Territory or indeed anywhere in the country exist to serve all Nigerians irrespective of their political affiliation. The Minister’s refusal to allow a legitimate political activity to hold in such a venue is not only discriminatory but also a clear demonstration of partisan interference by the Tinubu administration. “We have seen a pattern of political interference through public institutions aimed at weakening opposition parties under the current administration. We have also seen, by the case under reference with the PDP, ditto the ADC during its national convention held in April, that the Tinubu government is literally pushing political opposition out of space,” he said. The former presidential candidate further alleged that there was a double standard in the application of government authority, claiming that another faction