Atiku blasts Tinubu administration over rising defections

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has broken his silence amid a wave of defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the real battle facing Nigeria is not about party affiliations but about confronting the “abysmal failure” of the Bola Tinubu-led administration.

In a strongly worded statement shared via his verified X account on Friday evening, Atiku addressed growing inquiries over his position on the recent political realignments, especially in the wake of former Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and incumbent Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s move to the APC.

According to the 2023 PDP presidential candidate, freedom of association and political alignment are fundamental to democracy, and no one should be vilified for exercising such rights.

“Defections, alliances, and realignments are not strange in politics. They have always been part of our democratic journey,” Atiku said. “I bear no grudges against anyone choosing a different path.”

Atiku also tackled criticism of his recent visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna, questioning the selective outrage that followed the meeting.

“Some have turned to insults because I visited Buhari. Yet, during the 2013 opposition merger, consultations included visits to Obasanjo and Babangida. Why is it now sacrilegious for me to engage with a former leader?” he queried.

He noted that while some PDP leaders were brokering deals with President Tinubu under the guise of “strategic alliances,” his own engagements with figures like Peter Obi or Nasir el-Rufai were unfairly labelled as betrayals.

“Hypocrisy has become fashionable,” Atiku declared. “If we truly respect democratic rights, then we must also respect the right to associate and engage—regardless of political lines.”

The former Vice President warned that the obsession with political defections was a dangerous distraction from the real crisis facing Nigeria — a failing economy, rising inflation, mass unemployment, and growing youth unrest.

“This is not about APC versus PDP or LP versus APC. It is Nigerians versus a government that has brought untold hardship,” he said. “The Tinubu administration has no achievements to stand on. Its only strategy is chaos and division — the last refuge of the incompetent.”

Atiku urged Nigerians to reject ethnic, religious, and partisan distractions, and instead unite to hold the government accountable.

“This moment is about collective survival,” he emphasized. “An incompetent captain doesn’t just wreck the ship — he endangers everyone on board.”