Former Special Adviser to the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Umar Ardo, has raised concerns about the possibility of the party expelling Atiku. Ardo’s statement, issued yesterday, emphasized that Atiku might face expulsion if he continues to pursue his presidential ambitions. Notably, he pointed out that several PDP governors have already distanced themselves from Atiku.
This situation comes in the wake of Atiku’s criticism of the Supreme Court’s ruling, which confirmed President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 2023 presidential election. The tensions within the PDP and the actions of key figures like Ardo suggest a growing divide within the party, with potential consequences for Atiku’s future within the organization. These developments underscore the dynamic nature of Nigerian politics and the challenges faced by political figures like Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku had vowed he was going nowhere even though “this aspect of the job is done.” Ardo said a statement by PDP governors that they are willing to work with President Bola Tinubu shows they have moved away from Atiku.
He said: “Reading through Atiku’s press conference, last Monday, regarding the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment and his position towards President Bola Tinubu’s Presidency vis-a-vis the following day’s communiqué of the PDP Governors’ Forum, after its meeting at the Oyo State Governor’s Lodge, it’s obvious that the honeymoon between the party’s 2023 presidential candidate and its governors is now over.”
“In a separate address to the press following the communiqué, the chairman of the forum, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, extolled the leadership qualities of President Tinubu and reiterated the PDP governors’ readiness to cooperate, support and work with the Federal Government that he leads.”
“Nothing else can be more explicit in illustrating the two going on their different and separate ways more than this. With these opposing positions, it’s just a matter of time (and in a not distant future) for the inevitable implosion to happen: either Atiku steps down his presidential ambition or leaves the PDP, or be expelled from the party. That’s my reading of the political crystal ball.”