Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of working with some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to weaken the opposition and frustrate efforts to build a united front.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, Atiku said the internal crisis in the PDP could not be resolved because some of its senior members were allegedly being used by the APC government to destabilise the party.
“Some senior members of the party were allegedly being used by the government to further destabilise the party, and we could see that in their actions and utterances,” he said.
Atiku explained that he could have made firm decisions to address the crisis if he had been the party’s chairman or secretary.
“I was an influential person in PDP but I couldn’t fix it because I was not the chairman or Secretary. I have called them, and sat with them to have dialogue. Sadly, the people occupying those positions have different interests that are mostly personal to them,” he added.
He stressed that he should not be blamed for failing to resolve the crisis, as he did not occupy a position of authority in the party.
“If I had the chance to fix it and didn’t, that’s when one could say I failed,” he added.
Atiku revealed that as a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), he and other stakeholders were already working to build strong structures and ensure the party is widely accepted across the country.
When asked if he planned to contest for the presidency under the ADC platform, he responded, “When the time comes, we shall see.”
On Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary, Atiku noted that while the country has recorded some progress since independence, particularly in education, transportation, and road development, it is still far from where it ought to be.
