As Nigeria marks the 2023 Democracy Day on June 12, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has lamented that the country’s democracy is still in bondage, saying it will need the collective energies of all the citizens to rescue it.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the February 25, 2023 election said governing elite must stop influencing elections outcomes.

Atiku said the occasion of Democracy Day is a time for Nigerians to reflect on the country’s journey to becoming a democratic society.

“Democracy without a corresponding commitment to the principles of fairness and fidelity to the rule of play by stakeholders in the processes of conducting elections still leaves the people prostrate to tendencies of dictatorship,” the former Vice President stated.

“For our democracy to be fully fledged, it must constantly evolve away from the current practice where the governing elite determine the outcome of elections.”

Atiku said a lot of work still lies ahead in the evolution of Nigeria’s democracy.

“Democracy and the process of democratization is a constant work in progress. While what we celebrate today is a return to civil rule in Nigeria, the desire to make our democracy self-sustaining and independent of anti-democratic elements is the new frontier of participation by all democrats.

“The challenge ahead of us and the future of our democracy will rely heavily on what we do or fail to do today.

“As I congratulate Nigerians on this day, in celebration of return to civil rule, I also call our consciousness to the reality that democracy in Nigeria remains in bondage and it will need the energy of all of us to rescue it,” Atiku said.