The gale of defections and carpet-crossing in Nigerian politics climaxed on Sunday when former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, dumped the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).The APC is one of the leading opposition parties in Nigeria and has benefitted from the recent maelstrom of defections from the PDP in the House of Assembly.
Abubakar confirmed in statement that he was opting out of the PDP, an organization he co-founded with former President Olusegun Obasanjo who has also suspended his membership, citing dishonesty on the part of its leadership.
The former VP would formally resign on Monday, the statement said.
According to him, the ruling party had not addressed its problems because most of its founding members were marginalized by preventing them from contributing to the affairs of the organization.
“More worrisome, though, is the threat to the existence of this country by the culture of impunity and arbitrariness. We continue to receive threats from officially protected political extremistsâ€� he said.
He lamented what he called the reckless division of the party along ethnic and religious lines, warning its leaders to stop their divisive tactics which could destroy the cohesion of the country.
Mr. Abubakar was the Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007.
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