Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has revealed plans for a major political coalition involving members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party (LP) to confront what he described as the ‘incompetent and inefficient’ government of President Bola Tinubu.

  This was as former Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Olabode George, called on all stakeholders in the party to recognise how critical the scheduled May 27, 2025, meeting is to the survival or collapse of the party.

  However, the Senate Minority Leader and PDP chieftain, Abba Moro, urged party members, particularly those of the South-East caucus, to avoid threats and focus on resolving the party’s internal crisis in line with a recent Supreme Court judgment.

  Atiku made the announcement while addressing a delegation of stakeholders from Kogi East Senatorial Zone, led by former deputy governor, Simon Achuba, in Abuja.

  The meeting also focused on addressing regional insecurity and fostering unity in the North.

  Expressing deep concern over Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, Atiku blamed the Tinubu administration for lack of political will to address the issue.

  He recounted his experience as Vice President during the early days of the Boko Haram insurgency, highlighting how decisive leadership under the PDP administration temporarily quelled the threat.

SPEAKING with The Guardian via telephone yesterday, George said it was incumbent on every PDP member to bear in mind that the party’s future depends on the outcome of the May 27 meeting.

   The former Military Administrator of Ondo State stated that the meeting would determine whether the PDP continues to exist or ceases to function.

   “If some people think the PDP is their personal property and that they can do as they please, the party will cease to exist. The issue of zoning must be carefully addressed, unlike what happened when some elements defected to the APC in 2015, only to rush back before the 2019 general elections, used their influence to secure the party’s ticket, and repeated the same in 2023 with impunity. That can no longer be tolerated.”

   George also dismissed the idea that the party’s governors had taken full control of the platform, saying the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) plays only an advisory role.
“It is just one of several groups within the PDP and has no constitutional authority,” he said.

   Calling on former Senate President Bukola Saraki to let wisdom guide his leadership of the reconciliation committee, George added that another major issue within the PDP was the lack of sincerity among those elected to manage its affairs since 2015 and 2019.

The Senate Minority Leader explained that the crisis stemmed from the dual-position controversy involving Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, who contested governorship position while serving as the PDP’s National Secretary.

  He stated that if Anyanwu had won, he would have automatically resigned from his party’s position. However, the South-East caucus nominated a replacement, leading to legal battles.

  Moro noted that the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the party, not the courts, “has the authority” to choose its officials, nullifying the processes that had produced Sunday Udeh-Okoye as a replacement.