Wednesday July 23, 2025
By TheNewsDESK |
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has taken a swipe at prominent politicians leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing them of acting out of bitterness rather than offering Nigeria a real alternative.
Speaking at the Consultative Conference of PDP Founding Fathers and Stakeholders on Wednesday, July 23, in Abuja, Saraki argued that emotional exits from the party are not rooted in any clear vision or ideological shift, but rather a reaction to internal frustrations, FirstNEWS reported.
“A lot of people are leaving the party now, and leaving with anger. We must not leave if we have to leave based on ideology, based on plans, based on a vision for Nigeria, not on anger,” he said.
Saraki, who himself once left the PDP but later returned, warned that political choices made in frustration do not solve problems or build lasting systems.
“I stand here as someone who has experienced being in this party and not being in this party. I stand here as somebody who left this party with anger. Anger does not solve problems in leadership,” he added.
His comments come amid a wave of high-profile defections from the PDP to both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, and Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
Saraki challenged the logic behind these moves, questioning whether the parties they were defecting to had anything better to offer Nigerians.
“Yes, we have problems. But the other parties (APC and ADC) that we’re talking about also have problems. The other parties, especially the ruling party today, have already spent almost 12 years in government. Is their record any better than PDP’s? Of course not. So what are they offering Nigerians?” he asked.
He argued that leaving the PDP does not automatically translate to progress or good governance, and that many of those defecting are failing to assess the realities of the alternatives they are embracing.
“Politics has thinking, politics has planning. If this is what we want, we will find a solution,” Saraki said.
Calling on party members to stay and fix the PDP from within, he added, “Let me tell all of us here, history will not be fair to any of us if, under our watch, God forbid, this party goes down.”
Saraki maintained that PDP remains the best platform to unify and grow the country and said those walking away in anger are making shortsighted decisions that could damage both the party and the country.
“What I am saying is don’t let this propaganda divide us. Whatever those difficulties are, we have the capacity, the sagacity to resolve those problems,” he said.
He urged members to resist the temptation to defect and instead recommit to rebuilding the party for the good of the country.
