Temisan Olaifa
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, has ruled out fielding a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, as the party’s presidential candidate in 2027.
He, however, said Atiku is free to contest on the platform of any other political party.
He said a Southerner must still be President in 2027.
George, who has also been accused of never winning an election in his polling booth for the party in Lagos, spoke on Monday when he was featured on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
He said, “If Atiku were truly the leader of the party, he would have been fully involved in party affairs. The fact that he was the presidential candidate in the last election does not automatically make him a bona fide or permanent leader of the PDP.
“If he is pursuing his own private interest, that is entirely different from the interest of the party.
“He (Atiku) cannot be the presidential candidate of the PDP in 2027. I maintain that since the North has had the presidency for eight years, it is only fair and just for the South to have its turn for another eight years. That is the doctrine and foundation of the PDP.
“Now, I can’t say Atiku cannot contest—he has the constitutional right to do so. He can go to any other party and contest.
“But if he picks the PDP ticket in 2027, that will be the end of this party. I want to make it clear: if he (Atiku) secures the ticket through any form of manipulation—as happened the last time—we will not accept it.”
When Atiku emerged as the presidential candidate of the PDP in 2023, powerful forces within the party, including five governors, worked against him, saying the next President after Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, who is from the north, should come from the southern region.
Atiku eventually lost the election to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu.
