Tajudeen Yusuf, a former member of the House of Representatives, has pointed fingers at Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the primary reason for the party’s loss in the 2023 presidential election. Yusuf, a long-standing member of the party, made the remarks during a recent Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting in Abuja on January 29, 2025, which was marred by violence.
Speaking on the ongoing crisis within the party, Yusuf expressed concern that if the current issues were not addressed, the PDP risked repeating the same mistakes that led to its defeat in the last general election. He noted that the party’s failure in 2023 stemmed from a sense of overconfidence within the leadership, particularly from Atiku.
Yusuf explained that the PDP’s loss in the election was largely due to the presidential candidate’s arrogance, claiming that Atiku’s attitude was a major factor that contributed to the party’s downfall. “What you have seen ahead of 2027 is that people are struggling for structure, for who controls what, and to become the party’s candidate. They forget the fact that being a candidate alone does not make you president. We lost the last election because I feel our flagbearer was too cocky and so sure he was the next president,” Yusuf stated.
The former lawmaker also pointed to the ongoing crisis within the PDP, which he attributed to infighting among party members, all vying for power ahead of the 2027 general elections. He noted that many members were too focused on positioning themselves for future elections, rather than working together to strengthen the party. “The PDP is not playing opposition as it should because the PDP finds itself in the quagmire of over-ambitious men who believe they must always run for elections,” Yusuf said. “A political party should be robust and not be about you running for election.”
Furthermore, Yusuf explained that the violence that disrupted the recent BoT meeting was a direct result of the power struggle brewing within the party. He described the incident as a manifestation of the deepening divisions and the failure of the party’s internal systems to resolve conflicts.
Yusuf did not hold back in his criticism of the PDP’s leadership, admitting that the party’s mechanisms for handling internal disputes had failed. He claimed that the violence at the BoT meeting was a clear sign of the party’s failure to maintain order and discipline, particularly as it prepares for the 2027 presidential primary.
