Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the present administration of dismantling the gains of June 12, saying that “those who laid down their lives did not do so for Nigerians to groan under the yoke of authoritarianism and economic suffocation.”

Atiku in a post on his social media platforms also said the ongoing process by opposition figures to form a coalition will defend the legacies of the June 12 struggle.

According to the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, “What we are witnessing is not governance, it is conquest.”

The opposition leader said, “The gains of June 12 were hard-won. But sadly, the democratic promise that blossomed in 1999 is being steadily dismantled before our very eyes. 

“Today, Nigeria teeters on the edge of a dangerous precipice—a creeping one-party dictatorship is replacing the democratic order we bled for. Those who laid down their lives did not do so for Nigerians to groan under the yoke of authoritarianism and economic suffocation.

“The ruling party and its federal government now govern with the unmistakable intent to dominate, subdue, and silence. Their tactics are not subtle. Opposition voices are being systematically erased. Contracts for multi-billion-naira infrastructure are funnelled to cronies and family associates of the president.

“National institutions, once symbols of unity, are being brazenly renamed in honour of a sitting president, as though the country were a private estate.”

The former Vice President also lamented that the present government “represents the lowest ebb in our democratic journey. Institutions have been weaponized. Policies are crafted not to empower the people but to entrench fear, obedience, and control. The common Nigerian has been abandoned at the altar of elite comfort. And make no mistake: this is the antithesis of everything June 12 stands for.

“We are again at a historic threshold. Nigeria must choose: the path of democratic renewal or the dark alley of despotism.”

According to him, the ongoing effort to “build a broad, united opposition front is not about power for power’s sake. It is a moral imperative. It is about defending the legacy of June 12. It is about ensuring that no one, no matter how powerful is allowed to privatize the state and reduce the people to pawns in their political chess game.

“It is about reclaiming Nigeria for Nigerians and safeguarding the future of generations unborn.

“This is not just a political contest; it is a moral crusade. A struggle to liberate our economy, our democracy, and our dignity from the grip of authoritarian forces. And like every righteous struggle, it demands courage, clarity, and collective resolve. As long as oppression thrives, June 12 lives on, not just as memory, but as movement. The time to rise is now.”

Recalling the ideals of June 12, Atiku said thirty-two years ago, Nigeria stood on the cusp of greatness and the winds of democratic change were sweeping through Africa, adding that all eyes turned to our nation with hope, hope that Nigeria would rise as a beacon of liberty, justice, and self-determination