FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has hit back at Senator Adams Oshiomhole, accusing the former All Progressives Congress national chairman of defending a party that destroyed internal democracy and turned itself into a “private estate.”
News Point Nigeria reports that Atiku issued the response on Tuesday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
On Monday, Atiku formally joined the African Democratic Congress after receiving his membership card at his Jada 1 Ward in Adamawa State.
His registration came months after resigning from the PDP over “irreconcilable differences.”
The event drew prominent political figures, including former Governor Bindow Jibrilla and Senator Aishatu Binani.
Following Atiku’s official defection, Critical Youth Stakeholders Forum of the ADC in the neighbouring Borno State raised the alarm over an ongoing attempt by some “Abuja-based political merchants” to hijack the party structure.
The group warned that if nothing was done, the political party would face massive rejection in the state.
Mocking Atiku’s official defection to the ADC, Oshiomhole had described him as a perennial loser who lacked the capacity to reform any political party.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the senator representing Edo North argued that the former vice president repeatedly dumped parties after failing to secure a presidential ticket.
He said Atiku “couldn’t fix” the Peoples Democratic Party despite serving as vice president for eight years and later abandoning the APC after losing its presidential primary.
But Atiku’s camp dismissed his claim, stressing that the former Edo governor had no moral right to judge him.
The statement read, “Oshiomhole’s attempt to question Atiku’s capacity is nothing more than a tired distraction from the monumental failures of the APC, the very party he helped foist on Nigeria and the same party that has driven the country to its worst state in decades.
“Atiku was vice president of Nigeria, not the national chairman of the PDP, and certainly not the sole administrator of a political institution with thousands of independent leaders across the country.
“Leadership in a democratic party is not dictatorship. The PDP, unlike the APC, was not a private estate controlled from Bourdillon, where one individual tele-guides decisions and stifles internal democracy.”
Atiku alleged that the APC under Oshiomhole’s watch destroyed party supremacy, criminalised dissent and weaponised state institutions.
“If Oshiomhole seeks the man who ‘fixed a party’ into a personal empire, he needs only look at the godfather he serves. Under the APC, party supremacy died, dissent was criminalised, and institutions of state became partisan weapons. That is the only kind of ‘fixing’ Oshiomhole understands,” he said.
Listing his achievements, Atiku noted that he rebuilt the economy as chairman of the National Economic Council and championed reforms that strengthened private-sector growth, insisting his leadership record remained unmatched.
“The real question is this: If the APC could not fix Nigeria after eight wasted years and nearly three years of Tinubu, what moral authority does Oshiomhole have to comment on leadership?
“Nigerians know the truth. Atiku Abubakar represents vision, experience, and capacity. Oshiomhole represents noise, propaganda, and the bruising legacy of a party that betrayed the hopes of millions. He should sit this one out,” he added.
Speaking on the state of the ADC in Borno State, the chairman of the Critical Youth Stakeholders Forum, Sheriff Banki, rejected self-imposed leadership on the party, urging the national leaders to expedite action and call them to order
He alleged that there were ongoing underground plots by some group of political jobbers to hijack the structure of the party, in their desperate quest for personal relevance and political survival ahead of the 2027 general election.
“These politicians from the state who have always been compromised and enjoy being in opposition since 1999, are strategically positioning themselves to continue their usual business of using the opposition party as an emblem and money-making venture.
“These are politicians who have consistently been used by the ruling party. They are like political parasites to any political platform that would give them temporary oxygen.
“Today, they are claiming to fight for party structure by seeking to position their surrogate who will auction the party and trade its soul for a price as their usual stock in trade.
“Tomorrow, they will fight for the party’s tickets; next tomorrow, they will jump ship at the detriment of the ADC founding members,” he said.
Sheriff said Borno ADC was not for sale, adding that the party would not surrender its soul to transactional politicians migrating from platform to platform.
While describing the ADC as the new bride, he expressed the readiness to welcome new members and assured them of equity and fairness.