Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has resigned his membership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the third time in 18 years.
In a letter dated July 14, 2025, and addressed to the Chairman PDP, Jada 1 Ward, Jada LGA Adamawa State, Atiku, a founding member of the PDP, expressed gratitude for the opportunity given to him by the former ruling party.
A copy of Abubakar’s resignation letter seen on social media read, “I am writing to formally resign my membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with immediate effect.”
Atiku first resigned from the PDP in 2006 at the height of the disagreement between him and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The action enabled him to contest the 2007 presidential election on the platform of ACN.
The former Vice President later returned to the PDP and remained its member until 2013 when he teamed up with Former President Muhammadu Buhari, incumbent President Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Dr Bukola Saraki, Nasir el Rufai and other prominent politicians from CPC, ACN, APP, PDP, and a faction of APGA to form the ruling APC, which has been in power since 2015.
Atiku Abubakar has contested the presidential election for five times on different political platforms .
Giving reasons for his fresh decision to decamp from PDP, Atiku said : “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, recognizing the irreconcilable differences that have emerged.”
Abubakar thanked the party for giving him a platform to serve as vice president between 1999-2007.
“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,” Abubakar said.
The former vice president’s resignation was coming few weeks after the formation of a coalition by opposition politicians.
The coalition adopted the African Democratic Congress as their official party to contest the 2027 presidential poll.
Abubakar, 78, who will turn 80 by 2027, will be taking his seventh shot at the presidency if he emerges as candidate of the ADC coalition, having contested the presidency six times.
After serving two terms as vice president upon return to democracy in 1999, Mr Abubakar in 2007, contested on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform, losing to Umar Ya’Adua of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He challenged former President Goodluck Jonathan in the PDP’s primaries in 2011 and lost.
After joining the All Progressives Congress in 2014 ahead of the 2015 election, Mr Abubakar lost the presidential primaries to Muhammadu Buhari.
The former vice president returned to the PDP in 2017 and lost the presidential election to Buhari of the APC in 2019.
He contested against Tinubu in 2023 and lost.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
