Atiku Abubakar set to dump PDP for APC

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is set to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

With the conclusion of his nationwide consultative meetings with that of the North-East geo-political zone in Bauchi on Friday, it was gathered that Atiku would soon make a formal declaration of his defection to the opposition party.

The conclusion of the meetings came on a day that associates of the former Vice President from the North-East were said to have overwhelmingly rejected the PDP and rooted for the APC as a preferred political platform.

It was gathered that majority of the speakers at the Zaranda Hotel, venue of the meeting having appraised the political situation in the country, supported the former Vice President’s defection to APC.

The 2011 Presidential aspirant on the platform of PDP has in the last two weeks visited associates, stakeholders, leaders, Elders in the South South, South East, South West, North Central, North West and North East geo- political zones of the country where majority of them voted for him leaving PDP for APC. Atiku had raised some grievances against the PDP and substantiated his marginalization of not being wanted, even as he stressed that he is a BOT member by right but he is not being called to its meetings and so does not attend, adding that he is a NEC member by right under the constitution, but he has been barred from its meetings because invitations are not given to him.

He also complained that by the norms of the party, he is entitled to being invited to its PDP caucus and said that Dr. Alex Ekwueme, a former Vice President gets those invitations, but he gets none of those, adding that he is not considered as a major stakeholder in taking decisions affecting the Adamawa State Chapter of the party.

Atiku had said last week that, “there is a sustained effort by the party managers and government to entrench impunity and not to open up the party for democratic competition. Above all these, it is clear by now that the Governors who have remained in the party have given Dr. Jonathan an automatic ticket.”

The former Presidential candidate of Action Congress, ACN said last week that as a member of a party that changed to Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and formed a coalition called APC, he will not be a new person in APC as that is a familiar terrain if he finally joins them because his friends are mostly there and as a party, it offers what he described as a real chance for change and reform in the country.

He said, “The citizens are tired of business as usual and seem determined to change from business as usual. He wants to be on the side of the people.”