By Emeka Blast 
Atiku Announces Exit from PDP
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ending decades of association with the party he co-founded. In a letter dated July 14, 2025, addressed to the PDP Chairman of Jada 1 Ward, Jada Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Atiku cited “irreconcilable differences” and the party’s divergence from its “foundational principles” as reasons for his departure. The resignation, made public on Wednesday via a post on X by his Special Assistant on Media, Abdul Rasheeth, has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s political landscape.
Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007 and was the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2019 and 2023, described the decision as “heartbreaking” but necessary. “Serving two full terms as Vice President and being a presidential candidate twice has been one of the most significant chapters of my life,” he wrote. “As a founding father of this esteemed party, it is indeed heartbreaking to make this decision. However, I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the party has taken.”
The resignation follows Atiku’s involvement in forming the Alliance Democratic Congress (ADC), a new coalition of opposition leaders, including former governors Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, and Sule Lamido, as well as Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi. Political analysts view this as a strategic move to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections. Sources indicate that Atiku, alongside all local government and ward chairmen in Jada, may join the ADC, potentially weakening the PDP’s influence in the Northeast.
The PDP’s national publicity secretary expressed regret, stating, “We respect Alhaji Atiku’s decision, though we disagree with his assessment of our trajectory.” Some X posts celebrated Atiku’s exit, with one user dubbing it the fall of a “sinking PDP ship,” while others mocked his history of defections, noting this as his third exit from the party since 1999.
