Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of weaponising state institutions to harass and intimidate the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.

Naija Blog reports that Atiku made the allegation in a statement on Tuesday while reacting to the unsealing of the office of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan at the National Assembly.

Atiku insisted that the suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and the suspension of Senator Natasha were all orchestrated by the Tinubu-led government to weaken opposition voices.

According to him, such actions are “deliberate markers of the Tinubu administration’s strategy to subvert democracy and compromise the will of the people.”

The former Vice President said:

“It is reassuring that the voice of reason has prevailed at last with the unsealing of the office of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Though the precious time denied the people of Kogi Central in the Senate can never be reclaimed, this struggle has not been in vain. It has proven, once again, that when we stand together, we can triumph over tyranny.”

Atiku further accused Tinubu of deploying authoritarian tactics similar to military-era crackdowns.

“The suspension of Governor Simi Fubara and lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the unlawful suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the weaponisation of state institutions to harass and intimidate opposition voices are not isolated acts. They are deliberate markers of the Tinubu administration’s strategy as 2027 approaches,” he said.

He vowed that the opposition coalition would do everything within the law to defend democracy and safeguard the people’s mandate.