Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that the resignation letter marking Atiku’s exit from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was not voluntarily released but rather leaked by political adversaries.
Speaking on Arise News on Wednesday night, Ibe addressed the controversy surrounding the timing of the letter, which emerged on social media just as Nigeria was mourning the death and burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We’re here because people who never wished His Excellency Atiku Abubakar well leaked a communication of his. Yes, it was leaked,” he said.
The media adviser alleged that the leak was orchestrated by elements opposed to Atiku’s political ambition, both within the PDP and among their rivals in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He criticised Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, for wading into the conversation instead of focusing on challenges within his ministry.
“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,” Ibe remarked.
Atiku’s decision to part ways with the PDP was formalised in a letter dated 14 July 2025, addressed to the chairman of his ward in Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The letter was later shared on X (formerly Twitter) by his media team.
In the letter, Atiku cited “irreconcilable differences” and expressed disappointment with what he described as the party’s deviation from its founding principles and values.
Ibe, however, stressed that the timing of the leak should not distract from the national mourning for 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,” he said.
Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s Vice President between 1999 and 2007, has contested multiple presidential elections under different political platforms. His latest resignation marks another shift in his long and eventful political career.
Observers say the development could reshape internal dynamics within the PDP, particularly as the party struggles to regain its footing after a series of electoral defeats and internal disputes.
