A founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George has expressed sadness about the defection of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Senate President David Mark to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to form a coalition.
Although Atiku has not formally declared his defection to the ADC, he — amid his party’s lingering crisis — championed the coalition of opposition politicians and their eventual adoption of the party as the coalition’s political platform ahead of the 2027 election.
Meanwhile, citing the PDP crisis, Mark, who emerged as the coalition’s interim national chairman, has officially resigned from the PDP.
Other longstanding members, such as former Cross River State Governor, Mr. Liyel Imoke and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha have also joined the ADC.
During an interview on Channels TV on Friday, George said that he was heartbroken that the main opposition party, which he often regards as the ‘political iroko tree in Nigeria’, is being abandoned by some of its founding members due to its internal crisis.
The former Military Administrator of Ondo State said that some of the founding PDP members, who dumped the party for the ADC, were responsible for their former party’s lingering crisis.
He said: ‘I feel really very heartbroken, I feel really very sad, because the real political iroko tree…yes, we have a crisis, meanwhile, they are part and parcel of the crisis. The most important thing is that the Nigerian electorate will decide, and I warned them to calm down, do an assessment. Is it because the PDP has collapsed, or is it because of personal aggrandizement or personal ambition or self conceitedness? What is driving them to this other party?
‘We have crisis, yes, but I am happy to report to Nigerians that the ability of the PDP to come together, to debate to discuss and analyse the crisis and to come to a conclusion that we will remain united. And the second day, we had the meeting they opted out. As a retired-general, I have ben thinking about what could be the reason behind this, my conclusion is very simple, it is nothing but existential imbecility’.
George also dismissed the narrative that the ADC would be a strong opposition to the ruling party, saying that the party lacked the strategy to play opposition politics like the PDP.
