A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has declared that the party will crumble if former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar emerges as the PDP’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during a live interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, George, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, strongly opposed Atiku’s potential candidacy, warning that it would signal the party’s demise.
“If he (Atiku) picks the PDP ticket in 2027, that will be the end of this party,” George warned. “I want to make it clear: if he secures the ticket through any form of manipulation—as happened the last time—we will not accept it.”
George stressed that Atiku’s pursuit of the presidential ticket does not reflect the collective interest of the party, insisting that the former vice-president has distanced himself from PDP affairs since the 2023 elections.
“If Atiku were truly the leader of the party, he would have been fully involved in party affairs. The fact that he was the presidential candidate in the last election does not automatically make him a bona fide or permanent leader of the PDP,” he said.
According to him, the PDP’s founding principle of power rotation between the north and the south must be respected, especially after the north’s eight-year hold on the presidency under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I can’t say Atiku cannot contest—he has the constitutional right to do so. He can go to any other party and contest. But he cannot be the PDP presidential candidate. The north has had its turn; now it is time for the south,” he stated.
Atiku was the PDP’s presidential flagbearer in the 2023 elections but lost to President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
His candidacy had stirred internal discontent, with key stakeholders, including the G5 governors, opposing his emergence on the grounds that it violated the zoning arrangement.
As the 2027 elections draw closer, talks of forming a coalition to unseat the APC have intensified, with Atiku reportedly playing a central role.
However, on Monday, PDP governors distanced themselves from any plans for a merger or alliance with other political parties.
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