- “Nigeria Is Now a Diminished Country and an Embarrassment on the World Stage” — Atiku, PDP Leaders Declare as They Back Coalition to Unseat Tinubu
ABUJA – Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, and other top chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have endorsed a powerful opposition coalition aimed at removing President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election.
At a high-level meeting held Tuesday at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, the PDP leaders reached a consensus to throw their full weight behind the emerging alliance and urged party members across the country to collapse their existing structures into the coalition.
“The meeting encourages all well-meaning PDP members and other patriotic Nigerians to join the coalition,” a communique issued after the session stated.
Sources reveal that the new political force will operate under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with an official unveiling set for Wednesday.
Notable attendees included Atiku Abubakar, David Mark, former governors Liyel Imoke, Aminu Tambuwal, Sule Lamido, Sam Egwu, and ex-PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus.
In a surprising twist, key political heavyweights outside the PDP — including former Anambra Governor Peter Obi, ex-Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi — are also said to be in talks with the coalition, signaling a broad and unprecedented political realignment.
The leaders emphasized the coalition’s focus on national unity, economic recovery, anti-corruption, and defending democratic integrity.
“All coalition partners must be united on the issues of national unity, democracy, national security, national economy, and the political will to stamp out corruption embedded in our institutions,” the statement noted.
The PDP leaders, while expressing concern over the party’s internal crisis, accused the APC-led government of using state machinery to suppress opposition and dismantle democracy.
“Since our loss in the last presidential election and the exit of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman, our dear Party has never been the same again,” the communique read.
They lamented the erosion of the founding vision of the PDP, saying:
“The vision of the founding Fathers for which the Party was established... has been washed away just as our roles as the leader of the black race is now overtaken by smaller and less endowed countries. Painfully, Nigeria is now a diminished country and an embarrassment on the world stage!”
The statement condemned the APC’s performance in government, blaming it for rising poverty, insecurity, and deteriorating national morale.
“The APC government, which came into being on the false and evil propaganda to save Nigeria from PDP, is now a disaster to our nation and therefore must be voted out of power,” the communique asserted.
With this bold declaration and endorsement of a coalition platform, opposition leaders have signaled the beginning of what could become a defining battle for Nigeria’s political future ahead of 2027.
