Atiku replies Jonathan, says he’s ‘protecting the PDP’

The former vice president is part of a splinter PDP faction.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Monday replied the presidency on his involvement in the formation of a splinter Peoples Democratic Party.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, had said on Monday that Mr. Abubakar should be grateful for being allowed to return to the party.

“I was surprised because Atiku is supposed to know more than another person that there is no party like PDP. He left PDP and went to ACN and he came back to PDP, because he discovered that outside PDP there is no party, so he had to come back and he was even given the waiver to contest the primaries election in 2011,” Mr. Gulak said.

“Atiku should be grateful to PDP. Atiku is indebted to PDP and the best way to continue to pay the debt is to protect PDP,” he added.

In his response, sent by his media aide, Garba Shehu, Mr. Abubakar said he does not dispute the fact that he is indebted to the PDP; but that the best way to continue to pay that debt is to protect PDP.

“That is exactly what I am doing: Protecting the PDP,” the former vice president said.

Mr. Abubakar led seven serving PDP governors and other party leaders to stage a walkout of the party’s national convention on Saturday.

The group later announced the formation of a separate faction of the party to be led by a former PDP Acting Chairman, Abubakar Baraje.

A former PDP National Secretary and former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, is the National Secretary of the new faction.

The faction on Monday filed a case before a Lagos High Court asking the court to order the exit of the PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, and other members of the party’s National Working Committee.