ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- A member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has issued a stark warning, declaring that the party will not survive if former Vice President Atiku Abubakar secures its presidential ticket for the 2027 general election.
“If he (Atiku) picks it (PDP’s ticket), that is the end of this party. If he picks it by manipulation which was what was done the last time, we will not accept it,” the elder statesman said during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired Monday.
Atiku, who was the PDP’s flag bearer in the 2023 presidential election, came second behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and now president, Bola Tinubu.
The former vice president has made multiple attempts at the presidency across different election cycles and political platforms—six times in total.
Recently, Atiku spearheaded an inter-party coalition unveiled on March 20, 2025. The alliance, which includes Labour Party’s Peter Obi, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and other opposition figures, was formed with the goal of unseating President Tinubu in 2027.
Critics of the current administration have cited high inflation and soaring cost of living as reasons for a change in leadership.
The coalition hopes to leverage the cumulative electoral strength of Atiku and Obi in the last election over 12 million combined votes, which surpassed the total tally recorded by Tinubu as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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However, in a major setback for the coalition effort, PDP governors publicly distanced themselves from the alliance on Monday, April 14, 2025, dismissing any suggestion of a party-sanctioned merger or coalition.
During the TV appearance, Bode George applauded the PDP governors for what he described as “putting on their thinking caps” and rejecting Atiku’s coalition.
He questioned Atiku’s commitment to party unity, pointing out that the former vice president has not intervened in internal crises plaguing the PDP.
“No, if he is the leader of the party, he would have waded into it (the crisis).
“The fact that he was the presidential candidate of the party at the last election doesn’t mean he is a bona fide, fixated leader of the party. If he’s running for his private interest, it’s different from the interest of the party”, George said.
When asked whether Atiku could be the PDP’s flag bearer again in 2027, George responded emphatically: “He cannot be.
“This is what I am saying. There was eight years in the north, there should be eight years in the south. That is the dictate, that is the doctrine of the PDP.
“I can’t say he cannot contest; he can go to any party because it is his constitutional right but as far as we are concerned, he cannot be the candidate.”
He invoked the PDP constitution to support his stance: “There are rules. Section 7, Sub-section 3C of our constitution. It states that once the presidential candidate has been in the south for eight years, it had to go to the north.
“And after another eight years, it would come to the south. Is Atiku from the South-West, South-South or South-East?” George asked.
The PDP chieftain clarified that he also does not support President Tinubu’s re-election bid and instead wants the PDP to reclaim power in 2027 with a southern presidential candidate.