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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, denied agreeing to step down for anyone ahead of the 2027 presidential election, insisting he was battle-ready to face other prospective presidential aspirants for the ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

In a statement issued by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku described such claims as a misrepresentation of his recent interview with the BBC Hausa Service.

“After a thorough review of both the video and transcripts of the interview – in the original Hausa and the English translation – it is evident that at no point did the former Vice President expressly state, suggest, or even imply that he intends to step down for anyone.”

Ibe further stated: “What Atiku clearly and unambiguously said was that young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, are free to enter the contest. He further stressed that if a young candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without any hesitation.

“While interpretative journalism is a legitimate aspect of reporting, stretching interpretation to the point of mischief is unacceptable and must not be encouraged.”

Reacting to the statement, former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, in a post via his official X handle on Thursday, said it would be extremely difficult to defeat the former vice president in a party primary.

He wrote: “His Excellency, the Waziri, reportedly said he would step aside if a younger candidate wins the primaries. The keyword here is ‘primaries’. It’s easier for a camel to pass through the hole of a needle than to beat the Waziri in primaries. Party delegates are a special breed of people.”

Earlier in the interview, the former Vice President disclosed why he could not take some firm decisions to “fix” the crisis that riddled the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Atiku said he could not take firm decisions because he was not the party’s National Chairman or the National Secretary, adding that the National Chairman and the Secretary of PDP didn’t listen to him, hence he was handicapped in fixing the party.

The PDP’s crisis began in 2022, during the buildup to the 2023 presidential election. The lingering crisis led Atiku and other party members to join the opposition coalition, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Atiku accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of sponsoring some people to destroy the PDP.

However, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, has said there is no war in the party.

He made this clarification on Thursday while responding to questions in an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.

According to him, the party remains solid and united. “I am not fighting any war in PDP because there’s no war in the party. PDP is solid, PDP is together. We are clarifying the situation at the party. And make no mistake about this. Do we have people who disagree? Yes, we do. That is the beauty of democracy.

“Because we are truly a democratic party, we have contestation of ideas and people come with different backgrounds and views, there will be clashes, but the capacity of the PDP that makes it truly a democratic party is inbuilt in our constitution, and that is what I call a dispute resolution mechanism,” he said.

He further explained why the opposition party dissolved its executives in Akwa Ibom State. Akwa Ibom State had been under the control of the PDP since the return of civil rule in the country in 1999. The party, however, lost its grip following the defection of Governor Umo Eno on June 6.

Eno became the second PDP governor in the South-South region, after Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, to join the APC in less than two months. Four months after the governor’s defection, the party decided to dissolve its executives in Akwa Ibom State.

Ologunagba said the PDP excos were being controlled by the governor, who has exited the party. “In Akwa Ibom State, the governor has left. We have noticed at the National Working Committee and party level that there seems not to be a difference between the members of the executives in that state and their alignment with the APC,” he stated.

“Section 10, subsection 6 of this Constitution says, ‘No member of the party shall align with other parties or groups to undermine the party or any of its selected government. It is anathema to belong to two parties at the same time.

“We believe the Akwa Ibom executives are being controlled by the governor, who has gone to the APC. The governor said on tape that he will be in charge of the two parties.”

It was, however, gathered that security operatives have taken over the PDP secretariat in Akwa Ibom to forestall any breakdown of law and order. The development followed claims and counterclaims of the dissolution of the State Working Committee (SWC) by the National Working Committee of the Party (NWC).

Ologunagba dissolved the state executive council and appointed a 31-member caretaker committee, but the National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, issued a counterstatement, declaring that there was no NWC meeting where such a decision was taken.

Chairman of the PDP in Akwa Ibom, Àniekan Akpan, described the purported sack of his executive by the National Working Committee of the party as illegal.

He declared the state executive council as intact, stating that they will serve out the four-year tenure for which they were elected, adding that divisive elements within the party are working hard to undermine the PDP in the state.

The party chairman said he would continue to be identified with Governor Umo Eno, as the governor is not only the leader of APC, but leading the entire state across party lines

“The party cannot separate us from Governor Umo Eno. He is the governor for all. Nobody can say we have engaged in anti-party by hobnobbing with the governor,” he said.