Atiku dismisses defection reports, calls for coalition to defeat APC

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says he has no plan to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Recently, there have been reports that Atiku is finalising moves to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Reacting to the reports in a statement issued on Saturday, Atiku’s media office said the former vice president remains a bonafide member of the PDP.

The media office described the reports as a “fallacy”, urging Nigerians to disregard them.

“We have observed that some news platforms are peddling unverified information that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party,” the statement reads.

“We wish to clarify that the so-called news of Atiku defecting to another party is a total fallacy that holds no merit in logic.”

The media office said Abubakar has persistently called for a coalition of opposition political parties in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general election to oust the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The media office stressed that the coalition would accommodate all opposition parties, including the PDP.

“Hence, it is fallacious and unfounded to allege that the Waziri is jumping the PDP ship. Such an allegation is antithetical to the objective of the grand coalition, which the former Vice President is currently driving alongside other prominent political leaders in the country,” the media office said.

“We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Atiku remains a principal bonafide member of the PDP, the main opposition party.”

Atiku’s media office added that the defection claims are an attempt to “confuse Nigerians about the magnitude of the grand coalition that is at work to rescue Nigeria from the grip of the APC”.