Atiku Abubakar’s political cross carpeting began as far back as 2007 when he left PDP to Action Congress, he left the party again in 2013 to join the the CPC and later to APC before his recent move from PDP again to the African Democratic Congress, ADC. In this piece, our Snr Correspondent, Olugbenga Salami looks at his unending quest to occupy Nigeria’s number one position.
Recently, precisely on July 2, 2025, many politicians from the opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Labour Party, LP; New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP; African Democratic Congress, ADC and within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, formed a coalition aimed at unseating President Bola Tinubu from the Aso Rock in 2027 when another general elections will be held across the country.
The coalition, which had earlier adopted African Democratic Alliance, ADA, finally settled for the African Democratic Congress, ADC as the platform to contest future elections. The ADC appointed a former Senate President, David Mark as its interim national chairman, with a former Osun State governor and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as the interim national secretary while a former Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Bolaji Abdullahi became the spokesperson.
Other prominent politicians in the coalition include former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; former Anambra State governor and the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; former Rivers State governor and Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi; former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Senator representing Federal Capital Territory, FCT on the platform of Labour Party, Ireti Kingibe, and her former colleague who represented Kogi West in the 8th Assembly, Dino Melaye, etc.
Already, two among these top politicians are eyeing the presidential ticket of the ADC. They are Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. While many are saying that Obi from the South should be given the ticket with a promise to spend only one term of four years, those in Atiku’s camp strongly believe that only the former Vice President who is from the North could win the presidential election for the coalition.
While declaring his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, Obi said he was willing to serve a single four-year term if elected. He made the declaration on June 30 while speaking during a live session on X Spaces, where he answered questions from supporters both in Nigeria and abroad. He, however, dismissed claims of a possible joint ticket with Atiku like they did during the 2019 presidential election under the PDP.
In preparation to contest the ADC presidential ticket, Atiku has resigned his membership of the PDP with immediate effect. In a letter dated July 14, 2025, and addressed to the Chairman of the PDP, Jada 1 Ward, Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State, he stated that his resignation is due to irreconcilable differences that have emerged within the former ruling party. He noted that he found it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the party has taken, which, according to him, diverges from the foundational principles it stood for.
The letter reads, “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, it 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, recognizing 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 was elected as the Vice President on the platform of the PDP serving under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007. He has also been the PDP’s presidential candidate on two occasions, flying the party’s flag in the 2019 and 2023 elections. He, however, did not succeed in the two outings for the party, losing to Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 and the incumbent President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
This is not the first time Atiku has dumped the PDP to pursue his presidential ambition in other political parties. He first left the party just after serving out his term as the vice president to contest for the Presidency in 2007 on the platform of the Action Congress, AC, after the then ruling party favoured the late former President Umar Musa Yar’Adua for its ticket. Atiku lost out in the general elections, coming third behind Buhari of the then Congress for Progressive Change, CPC and the eventual winner, Yar’Adua.
In 2011, he returned to the PDP and contested for its presidential ticket, but lost to Goodluck Jonathan, who went ahead to win in the general elections.
Again, Atiku left the PDP with other top members of the party, including Bukola Saraki, Rotimi Amaechi, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, etc, to join the coalition that formed the APC in 2013. He lost the APC presidential ticket to Buhari and went ahead to support him to defeat the incumbent President Jonathan in the 2015 general elections.
In his determination to become the president of the most populous black nation in the world, the former Vice President yet again returned to the PDP in 2017, winning the party’s presidential ticket again, only to lose to the incumbent President Buhari in the 2019 elections. Atiku, once again became the PDP flag bearer in the 2023 election, where he came second after Tinubu.
The problem created by the contest for the PDP’s presidential ticket during the 2022 primary between Atiku and the then Rivers State governor and now FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, is still living with the former ruling party till date, and has forced many prominent members, including Atiku’s running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; Delta State governor, Sheriff Oborevwori and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Umo Eno, along with numerous others to dump PDP for the ruling APC while others joined the ADC.
This is the third time Atiku will resign from the PDP to join another party, especially for presidential election. He has had aspirations to be president since 1992 and if he gets the ADC official nomination to contest in 2027, it will be his seventh attempt. Since the return of democracy in 1999, the former Vice President appears to be the most unstable politician in Nigeria’s history, having changed political parties five times. He moved from the PDP to the Action Congress, AC in 2006, back to the PDP in 2009, the APC in 2024, back to the PDP in 2017, and now the ADC, all in his bid to become the president by all means.
Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Iliya Damagum, had while reacting to Atiku’s defection from the party, said iwas not new to the party, adding that he would certainly return. “It’s expected because this isn’t the first time, and I don’t see it being the last. Politics is flexible, it is dynamic, and you know whatever goes around comes around,” he told journalists in Bauchi on July 18.
Also speaking on Atiku’s exit from the PDP, the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, said it (exit) has no consequence for the party. The former Vice President, according to him, “is a person who is given to driving and pursuing his ambition with every vehicle, and there’s nothing wrong with that in the face of the law,” adding that leaders of the party are not deterred and are not losing any sleep over Atiku’s action.
Continuing, Abdullahi, who spoke on Arise Television, said: “When he said the other previous instances were not as justified as this present one, it leaves much to be desired about his commitment to the party. But suffice to say PDP is moving on; we are beginning to get our house together.”
It is a fact that Atiku has played a formidable role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution and his political resilience and capacity for building bridges across ethnic and regional divides are not in doubt. However, it is expected of him to leave the stage while the ovation is still loud. He should have known that Nigeria is different from the United States where Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election at the seventh attempt.
Majority of Nigerians across ethnic and religious beliefs are expecting the ADC to zone its presidential ticket to the South for equity, fairness and justice so that the power will be shifted to the North in 2031 after eight years of Southern Presidency. They believe that anything short of this may spell doom for the coalition. “It’s not even sure yet whether this coalition will be able to wrestle power from the ruling APC. What will make it totally impossible is for them to endorse Atiku or someone from the North. The South should be allowed to rule for eight years before power rotation to the North,” a public affairs analyst, Timothy Olasehinde posited. He noted that ceding the PDP’s ticket to Atiku, a Northerner when Buhari, another Northerner was about to complete his eight years in office as president in 2022, was the beginning of major crisis that scattered the former ruling party.
Rather than eyeing the ADC ticket for 2027 presidential election, Olasehinde urged Atiku to deploy his influence and political network behind a younger and competent politician from the South and perhaps an experienced someone who had served as a governor, minister, or legislator. “There are many formidable politicians from the South who can run the affairs of this country effectively. Most young Nigerians are tired of seeing old candidates on the podiums (during campaigns) and ballots (during elections), and are looking forward to a breath of fresh air, for something and someone new,” he added.
It is time the former Vice President close his eyes and ears to the sycophants who may be pushing him to contest for the presidential ticket again. His resources, this time around should be deployed to supporting a younger politician, which will be more honourable than another failed bid.
