In a recent interview on Arise Television, Chief Olabode George, the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), voiced his concerns about the potential instability Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s presidency in 2023 might have brought to Nigeria.
Chief George highlighted that Atiku’s candidacy posed substantial risks due to his ethnic background and came at a time when many Nigerians were advocating for a presidential shift to the south after former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year term. He stated that Atiku’s emergence as the PDP’s presidential candidate, alongside the tenure of northern-born National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu, sowed discord within the party.
George pointed out that Ayu should have stepped down long before the election. “It was Atiku’s candidacy from the north that disrupted the party’s established norms,” George remarked. He pinned the party’s fractionalism on the manipulations aimed at favoring Atiku, asserting, “We divided the PDP into two the moment we interfered with the process for Atiku.”
Further elaborating, George expressed doubts about the country’s stability had Atiku won the election. He underscored that Nigeria, coming off of Buhari’s eight-year northern presidency, was not ready to accept another northern leader, adhering to the informal agreement for a power rotation to the south. George was emphatic: “If Atiku had won, I would have stayed home because I knew the country would face inevitable collapse.”
Discussing the current state of the PDP, George noted that the party is now mired in deeper divisions, with three factions vying for control. His confidence in the party’s ability to resolve these issues is waning, and he questioned the PDP’s moral authority to critique the actions of the current government.
George declined his nomination to the Disciplinary Committee responsible for sanctioning members allegedly working against the party in the recent general elections. He refused to serve under Chief Tom Ikimi, criticizing the decision to subordinate senior members to those with less hierarchical standing within the party. “I know Tom very well,” George said, stressing his seniority and experience compared to Ikimi.
He concluded with doubts about the committee’s effectiveness, rhetorically asking, “Just setting up a committee, where will it lead you?”
According to Linda Ikeji’s report.
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