Revealed: Tinubu’s Alleged Role In Atiku’s Exit From PDP – Oshiomhole Breaks Silence

Former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has said that former Vice President and 2023 PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is the most qualified person to explain why Nigerian politicians frequently switch parties.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, Oshiomhole argued that Atiku was among the pioneers of political defection in Nigeria. He recalled that Atiku left the PDP while still serving as vice president under President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to Oshiomhole, Atiku’s political journey — from PDP to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), back to PDP, and eventually to the All Progressives Congress (APC) — makes him the best person to author a book on political defections.

“I say this as someone who has served as governor and understands how politics works. Yes, politicians can win elections without joining the APC,” Oshiomhole said. “In 2007, I contested against the PDP, got rigged, fought in court, and won. In 2012, I won again in a rerun. So I understand opposition politics.”

He further explained that politicians often defect when their party is in disarray, noting that even the Nigerian Constitution allows for this under certain conditions.

“Let’s not forget, the most notable case of defection was by Atiku Abubakar himself — as a sitting vice president, he left the PDP to join the ACN, led then by Bola Tinubu, who held no government office at the time,” Oshiomhole said.

“Was Atiku forced by Tinubu to join the ACN? I was a governor under the ACN then and know what happened. Atiku left Obasanjo’s PDP to seek our party’s presidential ticket. Later, he returned to the PDP to contest against Jonathan, and when that didn’t work out, he joined the APC to contest the primaries against Buhari. Did anyone coerce him into these decisions?” he added.

Oshiomhole concluded that Atiku’s pattern of political movement speaks for itself and should put to rest any claims that defections are unusual or externally driven.