Bags of Rice, Spaghetti Won't Secure Tinubu's 2027 Victory, Says Atiku

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has declared that distributing bags of rice and spaghetti will not be enough to secure a victory for the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.

Abubakar stated that Nigeria's democratic system is currently being undermined by a concerning concentration of power under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, commented that the current political maneuvers are not subtle but deliberate.

Shaibu's statement highlighted that at a time when a significant number of state governors have aligned with the ruling party, one would anticipate confidence and an openness to genuine electoral contests. However, the opposite is being observed: a pattern of actions suggesting apprehension about credible opposition, fair competition, and the will of the Nigerian electorate.

"Why would a government with such overwhelming political control still feel compelled to shrink the democratic space? The answer is becoming increasingly clear. Beyond coercing governors and political heavyweights into its fold, the Tinubu administration already commands the instruments of state power—the security architecture, the advantage of incumbency, access to the national treasury, the perceived sympathy of segments of the judiciary, and a pliable electoral environment. Yet, despite this overwhelming dominance, there remains a visible anxiety about the opposition and, more importantly, about the Nigerian people.

"Because deep down, they know this truth: stomach infrastructure cannot substitute for public trust. Bags of rice, spaghetti, and indomie may offer temporary relief, but they cannot secure legitimacy at the ballot box. This attempt to reconfigure Nigeria to ‘Rice-geria’ will not help these urban bandits, it will end in shame.

"Opposition parties have been destabilised by persistent internal crises, many of which have been sustained through conflicting and questionable judicial interventions. Court processes have, in critical moments, produced outcomes that blur legal hierarchy and create confusion rather than clarity.

"Electoral processes have not been spared. Administrative decisions and interpretations have increasingly raised concerns about neutrality, reinforcing a perception that key institutions are being aligned, subtly but steadily, in favour of the ruling establishment.

"More troubling is the growing resort to crass and reckless detention orders targeted at opposition figures—actions that raise serious concerns about the misuse of state power to intimidate, silence, or sideline dissenting voices.

"These are not coincidences. They are signals."

Atiku, a prominent figure in the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), noted that key political leaders across the spectrum, including himself, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abubakar Malami, Nasir El-Rufai, David Mark, and Rauf Aregbesola, are navigating an increasingly restricted political climate. He stressed that this is not indicative of a healthy democracy.

"Let it be said plainly: a democracy where the ruling party amasses overwhelming control and still works to weaken the opposition is a democracy in distress.

"Atiku Abubakar remains committed to a Nigeria where leadership is determined by the will of the people—not by pressure on institutions, not by engineered party instability, not by the quiet rewriting of the rules of engagement, and certainly not by crass and reckless detention orders on opposition leaders.

"Democracy must not be reduced to a managed process.

"If the current trajectory continues, Nigeria risks sliding into a system where elections exist in name but competition is effectively neutralised—a one-party state in all but name.

"We call on Nigerians to recognise what is at stake. Power must never be so concentrated that it fears accountability. Leadership must never be so secure that it avoids contest.

"As 2027 approaches, the question is no longer abstract: Why is a government with such vast control still afraid of a free and fair election? Nigeria deserves an answer. And Nigerians deserve a choice."