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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has boasted that the exit of former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, will not have any setback for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“I don’t think that will make any dent on PDP as a party. PDP is an institution and you have freedom of entrance and exit,” he said.
Makinde spoke at a colloquium of the 10th coronation anniversary of Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, Deji of Akure in Akure, Ondo State, yesterday.
The governor said he did not see the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a threat to PDP but as a mere political party intended to contest in elections as PDP.
Atiku yesterday announced his resignation from the PDP.
This is the third time the former vice president and 2019, 2023 PDP presidential candidate would be dumping the party for another one.
The Adamawa born politician was elected Vice President on the PDP platform in 1999.
However, he left the party in the run-up to the 2007 general elections, after he fell out with his principal, former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The former vice president later contested the presidential election that year on the platform of Action Congress (AC) and lost to the PDP candidate, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Ahead of the 2011 general elections, Atiku returned to PDP, where he challenged former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, for the party’s presidential ticket, albeit unsuccessfully.
In 2014, he dumped the opposition party again for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the 2015 presidential election, but lost the ruling party’s ticket to late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Atiku returned to the PDP yet again in 2017 and contested the 2019 and 2023 polls as the presidential standard bearer of the party.
Nonetheless, on July 1, the former Vice President, alongside some key opposition leaders, unveiled the African Democratic Congress ( ADC) as the opposition coalition party for the 2027 polls.
Atiku, in his resignation letter, dated July 14, and addressed to the chairman, PDP, Jada 1 Ward, Jada Local Government Area, Adamawa State, said he was quitting the opposition party with a heavy heart.
Atiku, in the letter, which was obtained by journalists, yesterday, in Abuja, said he was leaving the PDP, because of irreconcilable differences.
The letter read in part: “As a founding father of this esteemed Party, it is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision.However, I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the Party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles we stood for.
“It is with a heavy heart that I resign, recognising the irreconcilable differences that have emerged. I wish the Party and its leadership all the best in the future.”
Earlier, Makinde described traditional institution as a heritage of the country, asking for the government to give it due reverence for nation development.
The title of the lecture was: “The Role of Nigeria’s Traditional Institutions in Nation Building: Impediments, Impacts, and Prospects.”
He said that traditional institutions are not relics of the past but enduring pillars of identity, legitimacy, and communal cohesion.
“Long before Nigeria’s formal administrative systems took root, traditional rulers dispensed justice, upheld values, coordinated local security, and kept communities united.
“Today, they remain custodians of grassroots trust. And nation-building that ignores them does so at its peril.
“No wonder politicians continue to seek their blessings and validation,” he said.
According to him, strengthening traditional institutions is not simply about cultural preservation but it is strategic governance.
He stated that his government had made deliberate steps to integrate traditional institution into the governance architecture, which resulted in great success in Oyo State.
The governor stated that the nation-building was not about how much oil the country produced but about the strength of institutions, their ability to serve the people justly, and the legacy they leave behind.
Appreciating the governor, Oba Aladelusi said traditional institutions had a pivotal role to play in nation building hence the need for the country’s constitution to strengthen it.
The traditional ruler, who said that Akure is one without any division, commended the state government, sons and daughters of the town for their support to the Deji palace.
