Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will formally submit a
letter tomorrow announcing he has decided to abandon the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and join the All Progressive Congress (APC).
In a press statement in Abuja today, he described the PDP as bereft
of ideas and refusing to live up to the promises it made in the past.
He said his decision was the right one, recalling that in 2006, he and
his supporters were pushed out of a party they had worked tirelessly
with other compatriots to build as a vehicle to restore democracy to
Nigeria. “We later returned to that party in 2009 when a new leadership
of the party and the country promised a new direction, a direction of
inclusiveness, of internal democracy, of an end to impunity, adherence
to the rule of law and respect for the dignity of members and
Nigerians,” he said, regretting that those promises were not kept and
that the PDP continues to be beset with mostly leadership-induced
crises. According to him, as in 2006 it is the struggle for democracy
and constitutionalism and service to Nigeria and her people that have
driven his choice and decision.
“Let me emphasize that this is not about me,” he said. “We have to
have a country before people can aspire to lead it, but as it is today
we may be losing this country. That is not acceptable.”