Aliyu Audu has resigned from his role as Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Public Affairs, raising concerns about the shrinking space for political opposition in Nigeria.
In a resignation letter dated June 8 and submitted to the President through his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, Audu confirmed his immediate exit from the position.
“I write to formally tender my resignation as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, effective immediately,” the letter read.
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Audu followed up his resignation with a separate public statement, clarifying that his decision was not born out of defiance but guided by personal principles. According to him, his conscience no longer permitted participation in what he described as a troubling direction for Nigeria’s democracy.
“Though I do not align with the PDP, I refuse to be used directly or indirectly as an instrument to reduce Nigeria to a one-party state,” he said. “That would be a betrayal of both divine favour and democratic principle.”
He strongly criticized what he perceived as efforts by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration to suppress dissent and erode the foundation of a pluralistic political system. Audu warned that such tendencies resemble the authoritarian practices Nigerians had opposed in the past.
“If we now begin to silence or crush opposition simply because we have the upper hand, then we are no different from the very system we once criticised under Obasanjo in 2003,” he remarked.
Audu argued that democracy is not measured by total dominance but by the existence of vibrant ideological competition. According to him, the current approach being adopted toward opposition politics is not only reckless in political terms but also “spiritually dangerous.”
Despite his political misgivings, Audu made it clear that he remains supportive of some of President Tinubu’s economic reforms. However, he expressed strong disapproval of the administration’s political direction—particularly its alliance with certain figures he believes are antithetical to democratic ideals.
“We just differ on political views as I pride myself with being a progressive and a promoter of democratic values, which seems to be lost in the unholy alliance of PBAT with Wike,” he stated, referencing the President’s political collaboration with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
The development, however, adds to growing discourse around internal dissent and the health of Nigeria’s democratic institutions under the current administration.
