Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Andrew Uche Emelieze, a labour rights activist arrested for attempting to organize a peaceful protest over the non-payment of wage awards owed to federal workers.

Atiku described the arrest and continued detention of Emelieze as “an affront to democracy” and “a chilling reminder of the authoritarian drift” under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) directly linked the economic hardship in Nigeria to President Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy on the very day of his inauguration, calling the decision “hasty and thoughtless,” in a statement obtained by on Sunday.

“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hastily and thoughtlessly removed fuel subsidy on the day of his inauguration, he triggered an economic avalanche that has since buried the average Nigerian under the weight of inflation, hunger, and despair,” Atiku said.

According to him, the administration’s attempts to cushion the impact of the subsidy removal by introducing wage awards have fallen flat due to repeated delays and broken promises.

“It took the Tinubu administration a staggering 10 months to arrive at a new minimum wage figure. By implication, the Federal Government owes 10 months of wage award arrears to federal workers,” he said.

He pointed out that only six months of the ₦35,000 monthly wage award had been paid, leaving four months — amounting to ₦140,000 per worker — still outstanding.

“That promise, like many others under this government, has become a broken covenant,” he noted.

Atiku praised some state governments for demonstrating commitment to workers’ welfare but lambasted the federal government for showing what he described as “callous indifference and utter disdain” towards Nigerian workers.

“While several state governments have shown commendable responsibility in the management of labour affairs, the Tinubu-led Federal Government has distinguished itself by its callous indifference and utter disdain for workers’ welfare,” he added.

On the arrest of Comrade Andrew Emelieze, Atiku was unequivocal in his condemnation. He said the activist’s only “crime” was standing up for fellow workers and attempting to organize a peaceful protest — a right guaranteed under Nigeria’s constitution.

“Instead of engaging in dialogue or fulfilling its promises, the government has now resorted to tyranny and suppression of free speech,” Atiku said.

“Comrade Andrew Uche Emelieze was arrested and detained for attempting to organize a peaceful protest to demand the payment of the overdue wage awards. His only ‘crime’ was speaking up for workers abandoned by the state.”

He described the activist’s continued detention as symbolic of Nigeria’s shrinking democratic space.

“His continued detention is an affront to democracy, a slap in the face of every Nigerian worker, and a chilling reminder of the authoritarian drift of the Tinubu administration,” he stated.

Atiku warned the federal government that the plight of Nigerian workers cannot be ignored indefinitely.

“Let it be known: Nigerian workers will not be silenced, intimidated, or forgotten. The economic hardship is real, the hunger is biting, and the government has a duty to act, not repress,” Atiku declared.