PeakNews Online
Former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed reports suggesting he is planning to defect from the party.
In a statement issued by his media office on Saturday, the former Vice President reaffirmed his loyalty to the PDP, describing the defection rumors as baseless and misleading.
“We have observed that some news platforms are peddling unverified information that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party. We wish to clarify that the so-called news of Atiku defecting to another party is a total fallacy that holds no merit in logic,” the statement read.
Recent reports claimed that Atiku was finalizing plans to leave the PDP for the Social Democratic Party (SDP). However, his media office dismissed these claims, attributing them to an attempt to sow confusion amid ongoing coalition efforts among opposition parties.
The statement emphasized that the coalition being formed would accommodate all opposition parties, including the PDP, and reiterated Atiku’s commitment to the party.
“It is fallacious and unfounded to allege that the Waziri is jumping the PDP ship. Such an allegation is antithetical to the objective of the grand coalition, which the former Vice President is currently driving alongside other prominent political leaders in the country,” the media office stated.
Atiku’s team further alleged that the defection rumors were aimed at undermining the unity of the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Atiku remains a principal and bonafide member of the PDP, the main opposition party,” the statement concluded.
The former Vice President has been a central figure in efforts to unify Nigeria’s opposition parties in a bid to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next general election.
