Atiku refutes claim of leaving PDP to APC 

The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate denied rumours that he was considering leaving for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, promising to stay in PDP.

Atiku, who insisted on a coalition to overthrow the APC-led government in 2027, spoke with female members of the party’s Board of Trustees, or BoT, who came to visit him in an attempt to prevent the party from collapsing. He said that the coalition movement was not only a political tactic but also essential to opposing the ruling party and rebuilding the nation.

According to reports, Atiku, who was quite enthusiastic about the PDP, assured the ladies, who were led by Hajia Inna Ciroma, the former National ladies Leader of the party and Minister of Women Affairs, that the partnership was feasible and would guarantee positive outcomes.

He claimed that the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPN) and the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), which ruled during the Second Republic, had forged an alliance known as the NPN-NPP pact. He said that the PDP’s name would remain unaltered once the coalition was created.

He reportedly updated the women on the state of the pan-Nigerian coalition he was forming with other leaders and stakeholders from various areas and political divides.

Additionally, he told the women that the campaign was driven by Nigerians who wanted to rebuild and retake their country from all over the country.

Ciroma, the leader of the PDP women’s BoT, stated in response to reporters asking her about the purpose of the visit, We, as PDP Board of Trustees, BoT, members, the conscience of the party, decided to take this bold decision to come into the crisis the party is going through.” 

She said, “We, as mothers, are worried and disturbed by what the party is going through at the moment. We are disturbed that the party has no leadership, and any organisation without leadership cannot stand. we are worried and disturbed. We cannot fold our arms and see things go bad in our great party.

“We decided to visit former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to complain about what we are not happy with, to brainstorm with him on the way forward, on how to save the party from total collapse. We told him there must be leadership and direction in the party. We had very fruitful discussions with the 2023 presidential candidate of the party.

“He told us he was not leaving the party as he discussed much on the coalition and the need for us to key in. We also discussed party funding: that parties should be well funded so that no single person can control it.’’