Makinde, APC, George React As Atiku Leaves PDP Again

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has, for the third time, left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a platform on which he ran as presidential candidate in the 2019 and 2023 elections.

He was also a founding member of the party in 1998 and later served as vice president for two terms.

But Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has said Atiku won’t be missed in PDP.

Makinde, a second-term PDP governor, said it was better for anyone holding the PDP down to quit.

Similarly, a former PDP national vice chairman, Chief Olabode George, decried the former vice president’s exit, adding that he left to pursue his ambition.

Atiku’s resignation from PDP comes as he spearheads the opposition coalition movement to oust President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Atiku and other opposition-minded politicians recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the opposition coalition.

While former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido aligned with ADC but insists he remains in PDP, some of Atiku’s staunch allies, including former minister of interior, Adamu Maina Waziri, had earlier dumped PDP for ADC in their states.

 

 Atiku’s history of defections…

In 2025, Atiku cited irreconcilable differences with the party’s current leadership direction as his reason for leaving.

The former vice president left the PDP for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before the 2007 presidential election, under whose banner he flew at the election.

He left the then-ruling PDP after a protracted battle with his then-boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Atiku, however, returned to the PDP after his romance with ACN crashed ahead of the 2011 presidential election. He contested the PDP’s presidential ticket but lost to then-President Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2013, Atiku pulled out of the PDP alongside five Northern governors to form the nPDP, which joined the APC in 2014.

He returned to the PDP in the build-up to the 2019 election after he fell out with power blocs in the APC and emerged as the PDP presidential candidate in the 2019 and 2023 elections.

 

Why I left PDP – Atiku

In his resignation letter from PDP, the former vice president cited irreconcilable differences with the party’s current direction.

In the letter dated July 14, 2025, and addressed to the chairman of PDP, Jada 1 Ward, Jada local government area of Adamawa State, Atiku expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities granted him by the party, including serving two full terms as vice president and running twice as its presidential candidate.

Describing his decision as “heartbreaking,” Atiku stated that his departure was necessitated by what he termed a deviation from the foundational principles on which the PDP was built.

“I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles we stood for,” the letter reads.

He acknowledged the support and opportunities provided by the PDP throughout his political career and extended best wishes to the party and its leadership.

Atiku, who holds the traditional title of Waziri Adamawa, signed off the letter with respect, and it was officially received by the local party leadership on July 14, 2025.

As of press time, PDP national leaders, including acting national chairman Umar Illiya Damagum, deputy national chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja, national secretary Samuel Anyanwu, and national publicity secretary Hon Debo Ologunagba, didn’t reply to messages or calls on the matter.

 

 PDP Will Not Miss Atiku – Makinde

But in his reaction yesterday, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde said the PDP would not miss Atiku.

Makinde, who described the former Vice President’s exit as nothing to worry about, said that it is better for anyone holding the PDP down to quit.

Speaking with journalists after a colloquium marking the 10th anniversary of the Deji of Akure, Oba (Dr) Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Makinde said, “Politics is a game of interest. I don’t think his exit will make any dent on the PDP as a party. PDP is an institution. We have freedom of entrance and exit. Anyone who holds PDP down, it is better for such an individual to quit.”

Makinde, the colloquium’s keynote speaker, further stated that he did not see the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as an alternative to the PDP.

The Oyo State governor said, “I don’t see ADC as a threat to PDP. The goal is about the same. If you are not happy about the tempo and pace of governance, you are free to associate and see what can be done. But one thing we must all realise is that players will come and go, governors will come and go, presidents will come and go, but our state and country will remain.”

In his speech at the colloquium entitled “The Role of Nigeria’s Traditional Institutions in Nation Building: Impediments, Impacts, and Prospects,” Makinde advocated constitutional roles for traditional rulers in the country.

He said if granted, it would further contribute meaningfully to the development of the community, state, and country.

According to him, with constitutional roles, the monarch would be able to participate and contribute to the development of the nation.

“In my own public service journey, I have come to see that strengthening traditional institutions is not simply about cultural preservation — it is strategic governance.

“In Oyo State, we have taken deliberate steps to integrate our traditional institutions into the governance architecture. Permit me to highlight a few of these steps:

We institutionalised their role in the State Security Council. Our royal fathers are not bystanders. They serve as first responders, sources of local intelligence, and advocates for peace.’’

 

He is driven by personal interest- George

On his part, former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George,  said he was saddened by the fact that former vice president Atiku, who benefited optimally from the party, could dump it when he is needed most to strengthen the party’s chances of winning elections.

He said, “To me as a member of the party, one of those foundation members of the party, the first elected officer of the party, I feel saddened that this is a very, very, indecent conclusion from Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who was also a very senior member of the party.

“He was mentored by this party; he benefited optimally from the party, being the number two leader of the party for eight full years. I listened to the reasons he adduced for leaving the party. If he is a leader and a father in the house, if there is a problem in the house, would he, for that reason, abandon the house? What is expected of him is to make sure he sits down as the leader and puts the house in order.

“It is so disgraceful, and this is the second time he has done such a thing. My conclusion is that what he is after is not the corporate ambition of the party; self-consciousness, avarice, greed and personal interest that he is pursuing.

“If something goes wrong in his family, as a leader of the house, what is expected of him is to put things in order. It is not to abandon the party. All those he is going into ADC with were the people who teamed up to create problems at the presidential convention of the party.

“Senator David Mark, who is the acting chairman of ADC now, was the chairman of the convention. He cannot continuously be a rolling stone, because a rolling stone gathers no moss.

“It is a confirmation of his ambition rather than the corporate ambition of this great country, Nigeria. He only pursues his personal interest; in that case, what do you do? They are not acting like good politicians. It is so unfair.

“What should be of interest to them should be how to improve the lot of the masses, but left to them, it is just how to get a party ticket. He knows for real that as long as he remains in the PDP, he cannot get the presidential ticket. Our procedure and our party’s internal dynamics cannot favour him.

“Their leaving the PDP does not mean something is wrong with the party; there is no organisation without a crisis. The ability of the managers to tell themselves some serious home truths and come out united is the measure of their competence.’’

According to him, when the PDP was in power, the economic indices were far better, saying that improving the values of life and bringing about better times for the masses should be their major interest.

“He has left the party before; he was disgraced where he went to’ he came back to the PDP, and he still wants to repeat the same mistake.

Atiku should mentor younger politicians, not run for election – Bode George

Chief George suggested that Atiku is too old to run in 2027 and should instead guide younger politicians

He said: “My advice to him is to cast a very deep introspection on this issue. I am talking to him as his elder brother and as a friend, so that he should think about it deeply.

“In 2027, he would be 81 years old. At that age, I expected him to stay with his children and think of how he would mentor them, to mentor a younger generation from the North and get them ready for the battle in 2031. That is what should be his priority, and he should be thanking God for sparing his life to live up to that age. The problem is that his friends who go into ADC with him did not tell him the truth.”

 

Abia PDP Reacts To Atiku’s Resignation

The PDP in Abia State also reacted to Atiku’s resignation, saying such a high-class resignation undermines the country’s democracy.

‎The chairman, Amah Abraham, in a statement in Umuahia, the state capital, yesterday, said the country’s democratic journey cannot mature if its key actors treat political parties like revolving doors.

The statement read in parts: “This constant shifting betrays not strategy but a lack of rooted political philosophy, turning governance into a chessboard of expedience.

‎”In a country desperate for consistency and visionary leadership, such conduct sends the wrong signal: that political loyalty is transactional and principles are disposable.

‎”This trajectory must be boldly condemned. It undermines the sanctity of political institutions and encourages a generation to prioritise self-interest over national purpose.”

He stressed that a statesman plants his feet in values, grows with them, and doesn’t flee each time the winds shift.

‎”If left unchecked, Atiku’s legacy risks becoming a cautionary tale—a portrait of what happens when power is pursued without philosophical or ethical restraint.

‎”Atiku Abubakar’s political journey, once full of promise, has sadly devolved into a case study in opportunistic cross-carpeting.”

It said thus of the onetime vice president: “From PDP to ACN, back to PDP, then to APC, and again to PDP—his movements speak less of ideological conviction and more of personal ambition.”

 

Defection: Atiku Driven Only By Selfish, Obsessive Presidential Ambition – APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has chided former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying it was informed by his selfish and obsessive presidential ambition.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of PPD in the 2023 general election, has resigned from the opposition party.

The resignation was communicated in a letter dated Monday, July 14, 2025, addressed to the chairman, PDP, Jada 1 ward, Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa state.

Reacting to the development on X (Twitter), the APC national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, said it was due to the desperate but ever elusive search for the presidential golden fleece by Atiku.

“Yet again, @atiku uses his revolving door out of the PDP, for the third time  … all in his desperate but ever elusive search for the presidential golden fleece … indisputably, the weakest link in Nigeria’s partisan democracy.  Atiku is driven only by his selfish and obsessive presidential ambition …

“Never willing to put in the work to build his party or remain to solve its internal crises … but claims a birthright entitlement to the presidential ticket of his party to the exclusion of all others … congratulations, Nigeria’s incomparable political wanderer…,” the statement stated.

 

Keyamo reacts

Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has accused Atiku of attempting to use his resignation from PDP to draw the spotlight away from the solemn occasion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s death and burial.

Reacting to Atiku’s defection, Keyamo on his X handle said, “Your Excellency, @atiku, whilst I acknowledge that it is within your constitutional right to change political Parties at any time you may wish, however, releasing your letter of resignation from the PDP during this week of the mourning of our immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, is clearly an attempt to draw the spotlight away from such a solemn occasion and direct it on yourself.

“In fact (as the image below shows) you prepared, typed, signed and delivered that letter the morning after the passing away of the former President was announced.

“With the greatest respect to you, this clearly demonstrates that your obsession with your perennial Presidential ambition knows no sympathy or empathy.”

He added that it was morally and legally wrong for Atiku to continue using the Coat of Arms of the Federal Government in his private or political communications after he stopped being a functionary of the Federal Government more than 18 years ago.

He said Section 6 of the Flag and Coat of Arms Act, Cap. F30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, makes this an offence.