…Why I resigned – Atiku
…..Atiku’s obsession with presidential ambition knows no sympathy — Keyamo
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has announced his resignation from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), citing irreconcilable differences and a shift in the party’s direction away from its founding principles.
In a letter dated July 14, 2025, and addressed to the Chairman of PDP Jada 1 Ward in Adamawa State, Atiku formally terminated his membership of the party with immediate effect.
“I am writing to formally resign my membership from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with immediate effect,” he stated.
Atiku, who served as Vice President from 1999 to 2007, expressed deep gratitude for the opportunities the party afforded him, including running twice as its presidential candidate.
“Serving two full terms as Vice President of Nigeria 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 for me to make this decision.”
The former PDP stalwart said his decision was driven by what he described as the party’s departure from its core values.
“I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the Party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles we stood for,” he added.
“It is with a heavy heart that I resign, recognizing the irreconcilable differences that have emerged.”
Atiku wished the party and its leadership well in their future endeavors and thanked them for the support and opportunities he received over the years.
“I wish the Party and its leadership all the best in the future. Thank you once again for the opportunities and support,” he concluded.
The letter was officially acknowledged and received by Hammardama Abubakar on July 14, 2025.
Three times Atiku has dumped PDP
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the former Vice President Atiku is dumping the PDP for another political party. Abubakar first left the party in 2006 when he fell out with President Olusegun Obasanjo and switched to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), where he contested the 2007 presidential elections against Obasanjo’s anointed candidate of the PDP, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. The ruling PDP defeated Atiku’s ACN for Yar’Adua to succeed Obasanjo in office.
After almost six years in the ACN with Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu), Atiku left in January 2011 and returned to the PDP. He subsequently contested for the Presidential ticket of the PDP alongside Sarah Jubril and then President Goodluck Jonathan who had succeeded and seeking to be elected as President after Yar’Adua’s demise. Atiku lost at the primary, garnering 805 votes to President Jonathan’s 2,736.
Abubakar once again left the PDP on 2 February 2014 and became a founding member All Progressives Congress (APC), with the ambition of contesting for the presidency ahead of the 2015 presidential election.
However, he was defeated at the APC primary by the then General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), who went ahead to defeat the sitting President Jonathan.
After nearly four years in APC, specifically Friday, 24 November 2017, Atiku left the party and returned again to the PDP on 3 December 2017. The former Vice President then secured the party’s presidential ticket and contested against APC’s Buhari in 2019. However, he lost again.
In 2023, Atiku was again the standard-bearer of the PDP against the Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC but lost again at the poll.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the former Vice President, who is currently spearheading a coalition force under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against the ruling APC, alongside other prominent opposition political figures, is believed to have dumped the PDP again for the coalition party.
Atiku’s obsession with presidential ambition knows no sympathy — Keyamo
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has blasted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for announcing his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at a time the nation is mourning ex-president Muhammadu Buhari.
Keyamo made this known in a statement on his X account on Wednesday.
Keyamo added that it is morally and legally wrong for Atiku to continue to use the Coat of Arms of the Federal Government in his private or political communications when he is no longer a functionary of the Federal Government.
“Your Excellency, @atiku, whilst I acknowledge that it is within your constitutional right to change political parties at any time you may wish, however, releasing your letter of resignation from the PDP during this week of the mourning of our immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, is clearly an attempt to draw the spotlight away from such a solemn occasion and direct it on yourself. In fact (as the image below shows), you prepared, typed, signed, and delivered that letter the morning after the passing away of the former president was announced. With the greatest respect to you, this clearly demonstrates that your obsession with your perennial presidential ambition knows no sympathy or empathy.
“And since we are on the issue of your letter, it is both morally and legally wrong to continue to use the Coat of Arms of the Federal Government in your private or political communications when you stopped being a functionary of the Federal Government more than 18 years ago. Section 6 of the Flag and Coat of Arms Act, Cap. F30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, makes this an offence.
“Morally, it is also reprehensible to use a symbol suggesting that you are acting on behalf of the authority that symbol represents. It borders on impersonation. Imagine a situation where all former government functionaries continue to use the Coat of Arms of Nigeria in their personal, political, or private communications. There would certainly be confusion everywhere.
“I have a bounden duty both as a Cabinet member and a member of the Inner Bar to protect our laws and constitution. Please, be well guided,” he wrote on X.
