Atiku’s Son Sacked by Supporters Over Move to APC
By Wellington Jopelo
The Atiku Haske Organisation has rejected a directive by Abba Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, asking its members to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting he has no authority to decide the group’s political direction. The organisation also announced Abba’s immediate expulsion from the group.
The support group, which backs the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar, said Abba neither founded the organisation nor contributed financially to its activities. It stressed that it remains committed to the ADC and has no plan to move to the APC.
Abba had earlier announced his defection to the APC and directed members of his political structure to join the ruling party and support President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He also called for the renaming of the group to the Haske Bola Tinubu Organisation.
Responding in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the initiator and convener of the Atiku Haske Organisation, Mai Nagge Bakari, said Abba was only invited to join the group and was never given leadership powers.
Bakari said, “We founded the Atiku Haske Organisation and merely invited Abba to join the group. He has neither contributed a naira to the activities of the organisation nor possesses its certificate of registration. We are therefore under no obligation to adhere to any directive issued by him.”
He added that Abba’s actions went against the collective decision of the organisation and fell short of its rules, leading to his dismissal as a member.
The group explained that it had earlier resolved to move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the African Democratic Congress and would not defect to any other party. Bakari described Abba’s directive as invalid and unacceptable.
“The Atiku Haske Organisation is not a party to, nor interested in, defecting to any political party other than the African Democratic Congress. We were formerly in the PDP and resolved collectively to move to the ADC,” the statement said.
It added, “What Abba has done is contrary to our resolutions, values and principles, and he is hereby expelled from the organisation. The directive issued by him is a nullity and is dead on arrival.”
The group also warned Abba to stop identifying himself as a member, challenging him to form his own political structure if he wished to pursue a different path.
Abba announced his defection to the APC on Thursday at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, where he was received by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, alongside other APC leaders from the North-East.