PDP members have reacted to the official announcement of Atiku Abubakar’s third resignation from the party. In a reaction to the official resignation letter he submitted on 14th July 2025, A senior member of the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke to Vanguard in Abuja, dismissed Atiku’s resignation as “nothing new,” urging Nigerians to pay more attention to urgent national issues such as rising hunger and economic hardship.
“Atiku’s departure from the PDP is nothing new. As Nigerians, we tend to become overly fixated on individuals. Hasn’t Atiku left this party before? Did anything fundamentally change?”
Makinde: Atiku’s Exit Won’t Hurt PDP
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State also weighed in on the development. Speaking in Akure during the 10th anniversary celebration of the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, Makinde dismissed concerns about Atiku’s departure.
“Politics is a game of interest. I don’t think that will make any dent on PDP as a party,” Makinde said.
“The Peoples Democratic Party is an institution. We have freedom of entrance and exit. Anyone that will hold PDP down, it is better for such an individual to quit.”
When asked whether the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which Atiku is rumoured to be joining, poses a threat to the PDP, Makinde replied, “I don’t see ADC as a threat to PDP. The goal is about the same. If you are not happy about the tempo and pace of governance, you are free to associate and see what can be done. But one thing we must all realize is that players will come and go, governors will come and go, presidents will come and go, but our state and country will remain.”
Bode George: “Atiku Has Confirmed His Selfishness”
Veteran politician and former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, didn’t mince words in his reaction. He described Atiku’s resignation as confirmation of his “selfishness” and advised him to retire from politics altogether.
“Atiku has just confirmed that his selfishness made him leave the party. He is more bothered about what he stands to gain rather than what Nigerians stand to gain or benefit,” George stated.
“For me, my advice to him, as a friend and an older brother, is that he should retire home and rest. In 2007, he should have gotten what he wanted but he missed the opportunity. My advice to him is to spend the rest of his life in peace of mind with his family. He should learn from the life of late Muhammadu Buhari.”
“Atiku has benefited by becoming number two in this country and he is not somebody who can be pushed away easily. What else does he want to offer Nigerians? It is because he wants to be President that is why he left the PDP, he has done it before.”
“He was taught a lesson by Bola but presently, there is no place he can return to. My advice to him is that he should go and rest. I would not say he should not contest but he cannot get the ticket of our party because our laws don’t allow it.”
Atiku’s Previous Exits
Recall that the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar officially announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on 14th July 2025, which went on to trigger these reactions.
In his resignation letter addressed to the Chairman of PDP Jada 1 Ward in Adamawa State, Atiku stated that his resignation is with immediate effect. This marks the third time the former Vice President is parting ways with the PDP.
Atiku previously left the party in 2007 to contest the presidential election on the platform of the now-defunct Action Congress (AC), a political party formed by then Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is now Nigeria’s President. He later returned to the PDP.
In 2014, Atiku again exited the PDP alongside seven governors and other prominent figures to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). He contested the APC presidential primary but was defeated by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who went on to win the 2015 election.
