Politics

Atiku hijacks Adamawa PDP; party stalwart kicks

Published

9 years ago

November 8, 2017

Adamawa PDP chieftain Umar Ardo has called for the cancellation of last Saturday ward congresses result in Adamawa. He believes APC bigwig and ex-V.P. Abubakar Atiku has manipulated the opposition party in the state.

Ardo spoke with journalists on Tuesday after petitioning the Adamawa State PDP Congress Appeal Panel at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

“No election took place in Toungo, Ganye Mayo Belwa, Demsa, Numan, Shelleng, Yola North, Yola South, Mubi South, Michika and Madagali local government areas,’ he said.

“The Caretaker Committee members representing these LGAs simply sat in their rooms and drew up their list and submitted their names as elected executive members and they were admitted.

“It’s an open secret that the members of the committee connived and simply sat down and distributed the party offices among themselves.”

According to him, Atiku was involved directly.

“He called me to say that I should make sure certain persons get these positions. I disagreed. He has hijacked the PDP in the state.”

Ardo said Atiku’s return to the PDP will have its disadvantages.

“Atiku is coming back to the party with an ambition; an ambition to contest for the Presidency.

“Now that will be a source of conflict because there are others in the party who are also interested and they are nursing this ambition. There will be conflict among party members.

“Secondly, the deep pocket that Atiku has will not only serve that ambition; it will also deepen the conflict. The third disadvantage is that those foot soldiers will also serve the ambition and in the process deepen the conflict.”

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Atiku cross-carpeted to the APC in the lead-up to the 2015 elections, and ran for the party primary.

The ex-VP however said he had no hands in the problems of the PDP in his state.

“It is ludicrous to accuse a man who is not a member of a party of having hijacked the party structure. Whoever is making this allegation has to look elsewhere for their failings,” his media aide Paul Ibe said.

There have been rumours the Turakin Adamawa is readying to hop back to the PDP in case the ruling party attempts to stifle his 2019 presidential ambition.