Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has emphasised the role of building strong institutions and not strong personalities in sustaining democracy.
The statement was made in reaction to the US Congress’ certification of the victory of Joe Biden amidst several attempts by the incumbent President Donald Trump to swing the election in his own favour.
In a tweet posted after the US Congress certified the presidential win of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, he said it was clear that democracy could only be sustained when strong institutions are built.
The tweet said: “Democracy, as it is often said, is a process. With the culmination of the process certifying the electoral vote of @JoeBiden as the next President of the United States, it is clear that strong institutions are vital to the sustainability of democracy.
‘This is a lesson to be learnt: that strong institutions and not strong personalities are the bulwark of a rich democratic culture.”
Abubakar was a presidential candidate in the February 2019 elections on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He lost to the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress and contested the results in the courts which gave victory to the APC.