A member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has refuted claims that his lack of support for former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar’s presidential bid in the 2023 election was due to him not being from his region.
During a political program on TVC on Sunday night, George, who recently declined an appointment to the PDP National Disciplinary Committee, clarified that his decision was based on Abubakar’s actions during the election campaign, which he claimed led to divisions within the party.
George, a former National Vice Chairman of the PDP, emphasized that his stance was not influenced by regional bias but by concerns over the party’s unity and direction during the critical election period.
He criticized Abubakar for allegedly causing rifts within the party, which he believed hindered the PDP’s performance in the election.
He said, “When Buhari contested against Atiku Abubakar, they came to ask for my support. I was at the forefront because, at that time, he was favoured as a presidential candidate. I know what I did in Lagos, including my efforts for the first lady, his first wife, and what we did here, all in accordance with the party’s constitution.
“Let me tell you, I have no trace of tribalism in my blood. Today, my best friend is a gentleman I met in the military.
“He is a fully bona fide Fulani man. He is my brother at every level. I have many such friends across this country. If you cannot speak the truth to power, then you are deceiving yourself.
“When we returned for the second election, the last election, we saw that things were not right. Someone from the North had just spent eight years. How could we now support another person from the North for another eight years? It doesn’t work that way.
“They manipulated the system. We kept warning them not to do this. He divided the party, which led to our votes being divided, and consequently, we lost. So, how do we move forward? We will set up a committee to review the general election and the post-election period to prepare ourselves.”
The PDP chieftain also urged aggrieved party members to set aside their personal ambitions for the sake of the party’s survival ahead of the 2027 elections.