A new wave of defections has hit Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and media mogul Dele Momodu officially parting ways with the embattled platform amid allegations of internal sabotage and loss of democratic values.
Atiku’s decision to leave the PDP, after decades of association and five presidential bids under its platform, has sparked a flurry of political reactions. His media adviser, Paul Ibe, has claimed that the letter announcing the resignation was not voluntarily released but leaked by forces working against his principal.
“We’re here because people who never wished His Excellency Atiku Abubakar well leaked a communication of his. Yes, it was leaked,” Ibe stated during a Wednesday night interview on Arise News.
He accused unnamed members of the PDP and their alleged collaborators in the All Progressives Congress (APC) of orchestrating the leak, suggesting it was deliberately timed to distract the public during the national mourning of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Those who claim to know why he resigned, are they clairvoyants? I would rather say we speak on something else and not this particular issue, considering the fact that the nation is still in mourning and the memories of the late President, Muhammadu Buhari, who was just interred yesterday, are still fresh,” Ibe added.
He also took a swipe at the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who had weighed in on the matter. According to Ibe, “It’s unfortunate that the Minister of Aviation, who rather should be concerned with serious issues of aviation matters and there are plenty of them, like runways and better infrastructure, jumped into this fray as though knowing what caused an accident even before investigation.”
Atiku’s resignation, dated July 14, 2025, and addressed to his ward chairman in Adamawa State, was later posted publicly by his media team. In the letter, he cited “irreconcilable differences” and a deviation from the founding principles of the party.
Barely days later, another high-profile exit followed. Dele Momodu, a veteran journalist and former PDP presidential aspirant, also announced his resignation from the party. In a letter dated July 17, 2025, addressed to the Chairman of PDP Ward 4 in Ihievbe, Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State, Momodu said his decision takes “immediate effect.”
“My reason is simple and straightforward. Our party has been unarguably hijacked by antidemocratic forces, from within and outside, in broad daylight,” Momodu wrote.
He described the PDP as a “carcass” in the grip of political actors who no longer respect the values of internal democracy, and declared his alignment with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which he called a “new coalition party.”
“It is, therefore, honourable to abandon the carcass of the party to them while the majority of us earnestly sign up with the new coalition party known as the African Democratic Congress (ADC),” he stated.
Momodu, who vied for the PDP presidential ticket ahead of the 2023 elections, thanked party members for their support over the years. “I will forever treasure the kind support you gave me at all times,” he said.
The twin resignations come at a time of deepening cracks within the PDP. For months, the party has been grappling with internal discontent, accusations of imposition, and disillusionment among its rank and file. Several political figures have either defected or voiced concerns about the direction of the party, especially after its poor performance in the 2023 general elections.
Analysts say the departure of Atiku and Momodu may trigger further exits and possibly energise the ADC or other emerging coalitions positioning themselves as alternatives to the APC-PDP duopoly.
