The media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, has stated that the letter announcing Atiku’s resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was not voluntarily released but leaked by individuals working against his political ambitions.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Wednesday night, Ibe claimed the leak was orchestrated by figures within the PDP in collaboration with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We’re here because people who never wished His Excellency Atiku Abubakar well leaked a communication of his. Yes, it was leaked,” he said.
Ibe’s comments come amid a wave of reactions to the timing of Atiku’s exit from the PDP, which was made public just as the nation was mourning the passing of former president Muhammadu Buhari, who was buried on Tuesday.
He criticised Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, for weighing in on the matter, accusing him of ignoring urgent aviation sector concerns.
“It’s unfortunate that the minister of aviation, who rather should be concerned with serious issues of aviation matters—and there are plenty of them, like runways and better infrastructure—jumped into this fray as though knowing what caused an accident even before investigation,” Ibe said.
He insisted that “rogue elements in the PDP” were behind the leak, working “in cahoots with APC members.”
“Those who claim to know why he resigned—are they clairvoyants?” he asked.
“I would rather say we speak on something else and not this particular issue, considering the fact that the nation is still in mourning and the memories of the late president, Muhammadu Buhari, who was just interred yesterday, are still fresh,” he stated.
Atiku formally resigned from the PDP via a letter dated July 14, 2025, which he submitted to his ward chairman in Adamawa State.
The letter, later posted on X by his media aide, cited “irreconcilable differences” and criticised the party’s current direction, which he said no longer aligns with its founding principles.
