Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has explained why he was unable to resolve the crisis that engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said the lingering disagreements eventually forced him to leave the PDP and join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Wednesday, Atiku said his role within the party limited his ability to take firm actions.
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According to him, the PDP’s National Chairman and Secretary held the authority to make decisive moves but did not listen to him.
“I could have taken some firm decisions to fix the party if I was the chairman or secretary of the party or someone that listens to me was the chairman or secretary,” Atiku stated.
“Sadly, the people occupying those positions have different interests that are mostly personal to them.”
He recalled that the PDP crisis began in 2022 during the build-up to the 2023 elections after the party zoned its presidential ticket to the North, even though the National Chairman was also from the same region.
This move eventually produced Atiku as the PDP presidential candidate, a development that unsettled some party leaders.
The unresolved disagreements, he said, created divisions that forced him and other PDP members to defect to the ADC.
Atiku also alleged that external forces played a role in worsening the crisis.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government sponsored some people to destroy the PDP,” he alleged.
Despite the internal and external pressures, Atiku maintained that his hands were tied within the PDP structure, stressing that only the leadership could have steered the party out of its troubles.
