Had I Been Chairman or Secretary, I Would Have Fixed PDP Crisis, Says Atiku

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has explained why he was unable to resolve the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He explained that he could not intervene in the crisis because the All Progressives Congress (APC) were using some leaders in the party to frustrate their efforts to create a formidable opposition.

Speaking during an interview on BBC Hausa service, he explained that he could have taken firm decisions to fix the party if he were the chairman or secretary.

He dismissed claims that he is desperate to be president, maintaining that he is simply interested in rescuing Nigeria.

He said, “Besides, that is one of the reasons we set up ADC, which I am a member of. We couldn’t achieve that with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because the APC government in power has decided to use some leaders of the party to frustrate efforts of having a strong opposition that could challenge the government.

“As the day went by, the crises in PDP were growing, and the hope of resolving it was speedily vanishing because some senior members of the party were allegedly being used by the government to further destabilise the party, and we could see that in their actions and utterances.

“I could have taken some firm decisions to fix the party if I was the chairman or secretary of the party or someone that listened to me was the chairman or secretary. Sadly, the people occupying those positions have different interests that are mostly personal to them.

“Regarding the ADC, our goal is to establish the structures of the party at the state levels. We have already established the national leadership and they are working on ensuring the state and local government structures are strengthened and ready for 2027 elections.”

On the 65th Independence of Nigeria, Atiku said the country had witnessed some changes but was far from what the founding fathers had dreamed of.

He challenged the Federal Government to rise to the occasion of fixing the country even though the country has lost hope in the ability of President Bola Tinubu to fix the country economically, politically, and otherwise.

He blamed President Tinubu for the growing poverty and suffering among the masses in Nigeria, linking it to the unplanned removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023.

“When I was vice president, we proposed that the fuel subsidy be removed in four phases, and we engaged relevant stakeholders, including the labour unions, all through the process.

“But President Tinubu’s decision to remove subsidies fully without plans to cushion the effect brought us this unprecedented pain, suffering and ultimately, poverty in this country. No country announces full subsidy removal once because it brings pain and poverty to the people,” he added.