Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following his alignment with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the party recently adopted by a political coalition seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Atiku announced his departure in a personally signed statement dated 14 July, which was shared on Wednesday by his media aide, Paul Ibe.
In the statement, he expressed gratitude to the PDP for the opportunity to serve as Vice President and for entrusting him with the party’s presidential ticket in previous elections.
“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.
“As a founding father of this esteemed Party, and is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision. 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, recognising 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”, Atiku wrote in the statement.
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Atiku contested for the presidency twice under the PDP.
He was the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 general election but lost to the late President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In 2023, he ran again on the PDP ticket but was defeated by Tinubu, also of the APC.
These two unsuccessful bids under the PDP bring Atiku’s total number of failed presidential runs to six, in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023.
In 1993, he participated in the presidential primaries of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) but lost to Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe.
He was the presidential candidate of the Action Congress in the 2007 election, where he placed third behind Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
He returned to the PDP and contested the party’s presidential primaries in 2011 but lost to then-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Ahead of the 2015 elections, Atiku joined the APC and contested its presidential primaries but was again defeated by the late Buhari.
