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Chief Olabode George, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain, has said Nigerians would have been up in arms today if former President, Atiku Abubakar, had won the 2023 presidential election and emerged as president.
George disclosed this while baring his mind on the crisis rocking the PDP and the recent attempts by the party leadership to bring everybody back on board.
According to him, Atiku's emergence as the party's flag-bearer in the last general election caused an implosion in the party because of his northern origin.
The PDP chieftain argued that most Nigerians were yearning for a power shift to the south after former President Muhammadu Buhari's eight-year stint at the helm.
George says Nigeria would be unstable today if Atiku is president
George noted that an Atiku presidency would have capitulated by now as Nigerians would never have accepted a northern successor to Buhari.
“What am I looking for? Let us stand by the truth because it is only the truth that would liberate you. When we had that election, we divided the party (PDP) into two," George said in an interview on Arise TV's Morning Show on Friday, August 23, 2024.
“If Atiku had won, I would have stayed in my house because I know for real (that) in future he would collapse. This country would never accept.
“If he had won that election you think this country would have been stable? Because somebody from the north had just finished eight years and our own norm is that after the eight years, the presidential candidate must come to the south. Those who are running around for appointments (we wish them) best of luck,” he added.
George says Atiku's candidacy divided the PDP
George, a former PDP National Vice Chairman (South), noted that the party's leaning towards the north in the last general election was responsible for the ensuing crisis, stressing that the former Vice President's emergence as the presidential flag-bearer triggered a complete disorganisation of the party.
He said the then national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu left, failed to move swiftly to resolve the problems, adding that Ayu also reneged on the agreement to resign from his position should the presidential candidate emerge from the north.
“By the time Ayu left, he should have left long before the election. There was an agreement. It was the emergence of Atiku from the north as a presidential candidate that completely disorganised the norm of the party.
“The moment we interfered with it, manipulating the whole process to satisfy Atiku, that’s where the problem started. For us to pretend as if there was not a problem, we are just wasting time,” he stated.