The Good Governance Group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has linked the lingering internal crisis within the party to the inordinate ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to become President at every election cycle.
The group also slammed Atiku’s son, Mohammed Atiku, for making disparaging comments against Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, accusing him of failing to support his father during the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections.
In a statement issued to journalists yesterday in Abuja, the group’s director of Media, Hon. Chidubem Ikenna, said Mohammed Atiku’s accusations were misplaced, insisting that Bala Mohammed had consistently remained a loyal party member.
The statement faulted Atiku for failing to build consensus across the party, instead focusing solely on his personal ambition. It also accused him of surrounding himself with sycophants rather than genuine allies.
The group dismissed suggestions that Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed was the architect and root cause of the crisis rocking the PDP.
It cautioned Mohammed Atiku to tread carefully and refrain from blaming any governor for his father’s electoral defeats, noting that Atiku lost because Nigerians had seen through what it described as “a facade — a man unwilling to adapt, unable to inspire, and incapable of winning without turning every ambition into a warpath.”
The statement read: “If your father had spent half as much time building real bridges as he did tearing down perceived opponents, perhaps he wouldn’t need you out here insulting those who once stood by him. The same Governor Bala Mohammed you now criticize openly stood with Atiku in 2019 and never asked for payback — only mutual respect and fairness. Unfortunately, loyalty under your father’s leadership is a one-way street paved with arrogance and entitlement.”
“It is time for you and those in your father’s camp to understand that no one — no matter how wealthy, experienced, or connected — is bigger than the party. The PDP is not a family business, nor a retirement plan, and certainly not a vehicle to launder personal legacies at the expense of collective progress.”
The group also posed several rhetorical questions: “Who betrayed the PDP zoning arrangements for personal gain.
“Who used the party platform to negotiate across enemy lines while pretending to lead a united front.
“Who turned a presidential campaign into a family affair.
“Who was deceived by certain characters in the Villa into believing he had been anointed the next president.
“Whose arrogance caused the party avoidable electoral losses through the withdrawals of the Governors of Rivers, Oyo, Abia, Enugu, and Benue states.”
The group urged Mohammed Atiku to defend his father with facts rather than aggression, adding that the more he speaks, the more he reminds the party of the reasons behind Atiku’s last electoral defeat.
