The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has denied reports of defecting from the party.
The former Nigerian vice president said reports of his defecting from the PDP were part of efforts to confuse the coalition in process.
There have been reports of the former vice president finalising plans to defect from the PDP to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
However, Atiku’s media office on Saturday insisted that the former Vice President is a bonafide member of the PDP, and he is not leaving the party now or in the forseeable future.
A statement by his media office said: “We have observed that some news platforms are peddling unverified information that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party.
“We wish to clarify that the so-called news of Atiku defecting to another party is a total fallacy that holds no merit in logic.”
Abubakar stressed that a coalition would accommodate all opposition parties, including the PDP.
It added: “Hence, it is fallacious and unfounded to allege that the Waziri Adamawa is jumping the PDP ship. Such an allegation is antithetical to the objective of the grand coalition, which the former Vice President is currently driving alongside other prominent political leaders in the country.
“We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Atiku remains a principal bonafide member of the PDP, the main opposition party.”
The statement stressed that the defection claims were an attempt to “confuse Nigerians about the magnitude of the grand coalition that is at work to rescue Nigeria from the grip of the APC.”
