“If Atiku Had Done This in 2022…” — APC Chieftain Reveals What He Says Crippled PDP, Urges Ex-VP to Quit 2027 Race

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has urged former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and embrace the role of a statesman.

Okechukwu argued that Atiku’s decision to contest the 2023 presidential election against the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) zoning arrangement weakened both the opposition and Nigeria’s democracy.

Speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television on Monday, the APC stalwart said Atiku’s emergence as the PDP presidential candidate in 2022, despite calls for the ticket to be zoned to the South, triggered a crisis whose effects are still being felt within the party.

While expressing admiration for the former vice president, Okechukwu appealed to him to place national interest above personal ambition.

“I have great respect for His Excellency Atiku Abubakar. He was very close to some of my late senior colleagues, Dubem Onyia and Chuba Okadigbo,” he said.

According to Okechukwu, the decision to ignore the PDP’s zoning sentiment in 2022 came with significant political consequences, including internal instability within the party and a weakened opposition.

He maintained that if Atiku had stepped aside for a southern aspirant, the PDP could have remained a formidable opposition force, even if it still lost the 2023 presidential election.

The APC chieftain also dismissed Atiku’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu over alleged moves to establish a one-party state, insisting that the PDP’s internal decisions largely contributed to its current challenges.

Okechukwu argued that the fallout from the 2022 presidential primary deepened divisions within the PDP, ultimately leading to the rebellion of the G5 governors and weakening the party ahead of the 2023 general election.

Atiku’s emergence as the PDP candidate in 2022 sparked widespread controversy, as many party members insisted the presidency should return to the South following former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure. The dispute was widely regarded as a major factor behind the PDP’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election.