Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that the letter announcing Atiku’s resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was deliberately leaked by individuals opposed to his political ambitions rather than being officially released.
Ibe made the disclosure on Wednesday night during an interview on Arise News, where he addressed the backlash surrounding the timing of Atiku’s exit from the PDP, which occurred just hours after the burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We’re here because people who never wished His Excellency Atiku Abubakar well leaked a communication of his. Yes, it was leaked,” Ibe stated during the television interview.
The media adviser alleged that “rogue elements in the PDP working in cahoots with APC members” orchestrated the leak, suggesting it was strategically timed to distract from national mourning and create unnecessary political tension.
Atiku’s resignation letter, dated July 14, 2025, was originally addressed to his local ward chairman in Adamawa State before being posted publicly on social media by his aide. In the letter, Atiku cited “irreconcilable differences” and expressed deep disappointment with the PDP’s current direction, which he said had deviated from its founding ideals.
Ibe also criticized the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, for commenting on the issue, accusing him of neglecting his official duties. “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 the investigation,” he said.
Keyamo had earlier made remarks on social media suggesting that Atiku’s resignation was ill-timed and politically calculated.
The media aide emphasized that the controversy should not overshadow the national mourning following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari. “Those who claim to know why he resigned, are they clairvoyants? 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,” Ibe added.
The allegations of a deliberate leak add another layer of complexity to the political fallout from Atiku’s departure from the PDP, raising questions about internal party dynamics and the involvement of external political actors in orchestrating the timing of the revelation.
The controversy comes at a sensitive time for Nigeria’s political landscape, with the country still processing the loss of a former president while grappling with opposition realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.
