Elder statesman and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has slammed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Senate President David Mark for aligning with the newly adopted African Democratic Congress coalition, warning that their defection weakens the opposition and betrays the PDP’s legacy.
George, speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, expressed deep disappointment over the formation of the ADC-led coalition, which is being positioned as a mega opposition force ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He criticised the move by some PDP chieftains to remain in the party while simultaneously pursuing their political ambitions on another platform.
“You can’t serve two masters, as stated in the Holy Book. You either serve A or you serve B. But to say you are in A and B is a fallacy,” George said.
On Wednesday, several prominent politicians including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, Dele Momodu, and others met in Abuja to formally adopt the ADC as their coalition platform.
Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola were named interim National Chairman and Secretary, respectively.
While Atiku has yet to officially renounce his PDP membership, his leading role in the coalition has raised eyebrows within his former party.
David Mark, however, has officially resigned from the PDP.
Reacting to the development, Bode George described the defectors as key architects of the PDP’s crisis, noting that it was ironic for them to now use that crisis as justification to jump ship.
“I feel really very heartbroken, I feel really very sad, because of the real political Iroko tree… yes, we have a crisis. Meanwhile, they are part and parcel of the crisis,” he said.
Recalling the 2022 PDP presidential primary, George accused Mark and Atiku of orchestrating events that sowed division in the party by pushing for another northern candidate after former President Muhammadu Buhari had just completed eight years in office.
“When we had the last convention, General Buhari had just finished eight years. Then Atiku Abubakar wanted to compete (but) we said no; a northerner had just finished eight years. We had (Peter) Obi in the South.
This was the beginning of the crisis. David Mark was the chairman of that convention, and Iyorchia Ayu was the chairman of the party.
Of course, you cannot do things like that and get away with it. I warned against it at that point,” George said.
The retired Navy Commodore, who once served as military administrator of Lagos State, dismissed suggestions that the ADC coalition could match the PDP’s legacy as a formidable opposition platform.
“Do they have a concept? What is the strategy they have? That is a classless strategy. It is nothing but existential imbecility. Or sometimes what is called existential docility,” George said.
He also questioned the motive behind the mass exodus from the PDP, calling it a move driven more by ego and ambition than principle.
“Is it because the PDP has collapsed, or is it because of personal aggrandizement or personal ambition or self-conceitedness? What is driving them to this other party?” George queried.
He likened the PDP to a family home that must be repaired from within rather than abandoned.
“This is your father’s house. The house made you, brought you to the limelight. You gained every laurel and recognition from this same house.
And because there is a little crisis, is leaving the cultural thing to do? No, you sit in there. If you have a house that is leaking, do you run out? No, you are the landlord,” George said.
Despite his disappointment, George insisted that the PDP still had the internal structure and resilience to overcome its challenges, describing its ability to debate and deliberate as a strength.
