A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Bode George, has asked a former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar to forget contesting for the presidency in 2027 as it is becoming annoying and really ridiculous how the former Vice President thinks that the presidency is only for him to contest .

Bode George while speaking on a programme by the Arise News Télévision said, Atiku Abubakar thinks he is the only qualified member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to become President, and that the founding fathers of the party wanted harmony and unity amongst the different geopolitical zones of the country and that was why the People’s Democratic Party had rotational presidency in its constitution.

‘When General Abdusalami’s government was nearing its end, they needed political parties and I think they first ran without any political party. Then the founding fathers, Chief Bola Ige from the south west , Alex Ekwueme from the south east , Jim Nwobodo, Solomon Lar , Alhaji Rimi, Ciroma and all that came together to form this political party (PDP)

The elder statesman lamented the continuous involvement of Atiku in the Presidential race because the founding fathers of the party saw the danger that is inherent in a one region presidency and decided to have a rotational presidency embedded in the constitution of the party.

‘The founding fathers knew the dangers in isolating a section of the country and that was why they had all these things put together to engender peace and harmony amongst Nigerians. They handed over to us a party that should unite Nigerians due to its enviable rules but you know human beings will always want to beat the system and make it redundant.

‘ prior to the 2023 General elections we talked about the issue of the presidency coming from one section of the country and the chairmanship of the party from the same region, but you know people were not bothered, there was a lot of manipulations going on and at the end a divided house will remain a defeated house.

Speaking further, Bode George said Atiku is his friend but an individual can’t be bigger than the party.

‘Atiku is my friend, but he can’t be bigger than the party, the People’s Democratic Party is not a private enterprise of anyone. We lost the elections because of the shenanigans of some people who feel they are bigger than the party. You can’t be bigger than the party. Where was Kwankwaso from? Where was Peter Obi from? All these people left because of the highhandedness of some people in the party’

‘We would sort ourselves out and get ready for the next election. It is not a personal thing, but Atiku has made The PDP a laughing stock and a weak political party in recent years and this should be addressed as soon as possible.’