Video: Atiku’s exist is no dent to PDP, anyone holding party down should quit — Makinde

Abdullateef Fowewe

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has dismissed concerns over the impact of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), asserting that the party’s fortunes remain intact and unthreatened ahead of the 2027 elections.

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BgK6TnHfq/

Speaking to journalists in Akure at the 10th coronation anniversary celebration of the Deji of Akure, Makinde described Abubakar’s departure as a non-issue for the party noting, “Politics is a game of interest. I don’t think that will make any dent on PDP as a party.

“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.”

The Governor, who has previously clashed with Atiku’s camp within the PDP, underscored the party’s institutional strength above individual ambitions.

“Players will come and go, governors will come and go, presidents will come and go, but our state and country will remain,” he said.

Atiku, who twice contested for president under the PDP and served as Vice President from 1999 to 2007, announced his resignation from the party after lamenting the PDP’s “departure from its founding principles.”

In his resignation letter, he expressed appreciation for his time in the PDP but described his decision to leave as “painful” and “necessary.”