Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been referred to as the most notable political defector in Nigerian history by Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), who believes he would be the most qualified person to write a book on the topic.
While speaking on Channels Tv Politics Today, Oshiomhole pointed to Atiku’s lengthy history of party switching as proof of his extensive knowledge of political realignment.
He said, “But let me remind you that those who started defection, the most popular one in the history of Nigeria is His Excellency Atiku Abubakar,”
“When, as a sitting vice-president of Nigeria, he decamped from PDP to ACN, which is now part of APC, was he courted by no state at all?
“Was he (Abubakar) courted by ACN, which was then led by Bola Tinubu – Asiwaju Tinubu – a non-state president at the time?”
According to the former national chairman of the APC, Atiku’s several party defections are motivated more by personal ambition than by ideological alignment, refuting the claim that the ruling party lacks internal coherence.
Oshiomhole questioned whether any All Progressives Congress (APC) members pressured Atiku to rejoin the PDP following his loss as president.
“Was Atiku Abubakar coerced by Tinubu to come and join us in ACN?” he asked.
“Did ACN coerce Atiku Abubakar to leave Obasanjo and PDP to pick our ticket and run as president?”
“Did we force him to leave our party and return to PDP to contest against Jonathan?” he asked.
