By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
From the political party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on which platform he became Nigeria’s Vice President (1999-2007) for two unbroken terms, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has resigned.
He described the decision as heart-breaking.
The party won successive presidential elections in the country from the dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999 to 2015 when its last holder, Goodluck Jonathan,lost to the opposition Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buhari reportedly died last Sunday in a London hospital and his remains were buried with full state honours in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State, North-West Nigeria,on Tuesday, July 15,2025.
Justifying his exit from the PDP, Abubakar, popularly called by his first name Atiku, stated that it was due to the trajectory the party had taken.
The PDP has been riddled with crises even before the 2023 presidential election,in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) listed Atiku as coming second in the final poll results.
Part of the party’s problems arose from the accusation by then Rivers State governor (now Minister of Federal Capital Territory,FCT), Nyesom Wike, that Atiku,a Northerner, had usurped the slot of the South in running for the party’s ticket in its primary,in contravention of an existing gentleman’s agreement among politicians in the country on power rotation between North and South.
Buhari, a Northerner, was rounding off his second and final constitutional tenure in 2023 and emotion was high in the South, Middle Belt and among fair-minded Northerners that another Northerner should not succeed him; such was the rhetoric in the Wike camp.
Wike vowed to ‘sanitize’ the party and make things tough for Atiku. He found political kindred spirits in four other state Governors.
Since then, the party has been in a death grip of crises, suffering exits by even some heavyweights including senators, Reps and governors from its long reliable areas of dominance such as Delta State.
The battle for the soul of PDP reached a head last May as Wike, interestingly himself a PDP member, in his capacity as FCT Minister, signed off on the sealing of the PDP National Secretariat in Wuse, Zone 5, Abuja over alleged non-payment of ground rent to the authorities. The matter was later resolved.
Another leg to the crises is the Acting Chairman of PDP, Ambassador Umar Damagum, who was accused of being fiercely pro-Wike and rejected several calls for him to resign and make way for a new face.
A number of prominent members of PDP stated that the crises in the party were being engineered by Aso Rock,the federal seat of power, to destabilize the party,weaken it and render it prostrate ahead of the crucial 2027 general elections cycle in which President Bola Tinubu is expected to stand for re-election. The charges were, however, roundly denied by the Presidency.
Atiku is presently a key member of the opposition coalition which has anchored on the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Other titans in the ship include presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 poll, Peter Obi; former Transportation Minister in the Buhari government, Rotimi Amaechi; former governor of Kaduna State,Nasir El-Rufai; former Attorney-General of the Federation in the Buhari administration, Abubakar Malami; former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola; and so many others.
In a signed resignation letter dated July 14, 2025 and addressed to the PDP Chairman of his ward located in Jada Local Government Area (LGA) of Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria, Atiku accused the PDP of deviating from its founding principles.
Part of the letter read: “I am writing to formally resign my membership from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with immediate effect.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the opportunities I have been given by the Party.
“Serving two full terms as Vice President of Nigeria and being a Presidential candidate twice has been one of the most significant chapters of my life.
“However, 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.
“It is with a heavy heart that I resign, recognizing the irreconcilable differences that have emerged.
“I wish the Party and its leadership all the best in the future. Thank you once again for the opportunities and support.
“As a founding father of this esteemed Party, it is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision.”
