President Bola Tinubu has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his repeated departures from the Peoples Democratic Party, saying he left when party members began to challenge his leadership.
Tinubu spoke on Friday at a state dinner hosted by the Akwa Ibom State Government.
“The other one, Atiku Abubakar… I have been fighting for the roads in Adamawa and every place where he comes from,” Tinubu said.
He described the PDP as once formidable but accused Atiku of leaving when members were preparing to challenge him.
“The PDP was a bunch of party, in which some of the good people here believed in… initially. Immediately, a little inkling came that they were going to challenge his leadership. He ran away,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu also mocked Atiku’s move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“He abandoned the party; now he’s in ADC, or somewhere in the jungle, and he’s looking for presidency,” he said.
The president questioned whether Nigerians should entrust the country’s leadership to someone he accused of avoiding responsibility.
“Will you give such a person who has no leadership, no leadership quality, no sense of responsibility, no sense of cohesion that can do good to this country, the presidency?” he asked.
Tinubu also reiterated his commitment to the proposed Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport, urging the state government to honour its own pledge.
“Keep your promise. I will keep mine. There will be Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport,” he said.
He described the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027, as consequential, saying its outcome would determine the country’s direction.
“This coming election on January 16th, 2027 is a consequential election; it will determine the direction of this country,” he said.
Tinubu said that when he took office, 27 of the country’s 36 state governors were unable to pay salaries, pensions and gratuities.
“Today, I stand before you, able to say, we are out of that dark tunnel,” he said. “I can beat my chest to say we are out of the greatest despair, a dark tunnel of uncertainty and calamitous bankruptcy.”
Tinubu also criticised Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Atiku, Tinubu and Obi are among the leading contenders for next year’s presidential election.
Atiku left the PDP in 2006 after failing to secure the party’s presidential ticket and joined the Action Congress. He left the PDP again in 2014 to help form the All Progressives Congress. He most recently left the party on July 14, 2025.
