Paul Ibe, the Media Adviser to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that the letter announcing Atiku’s resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was not officially released but deliberately leaked by individuals opposed to his political ambition.
Naijaonpoint reports that Ibe made the disclosure on Wednesday night during an interview on Arise News, where he responded to backlash surrounding the timing of Atiku’s exit from the PDP, just hours after the burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We’re here because people who never wished His Excellency Atiku Abubakar well leaked a communication of his. Yes, it was leaked,” Ibe stated.
He alleged that “rogue elements in the PDP working in cahoots with APC members” orchestrated the leak, suggesting it was intended to distract from national mourning and create unnecessary political tension.
Atiku’s resignation letter, dated July 14, 2025, was addressed to his local ward chairman in Adamawa State and later posted publicly on social media by his aide.
In the letter, Atiku cited “irreconcilable differences” and expressed deep disappointment with the PDP’s current direction, which he said had deviated from its founding ideals.
Ibe also slammed the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, for wading into the issue, accusing him of neglecting his official duties.
“It’s unfortunate that the Minister of Aviation, who rather should be concerned with serious issues of aviation matters—and there are plenty of them, like runways and better infrastructure, jumped into this fray as though knowing what caused an accident even before the investigation,” he said.
Keyamo had earlier made remarks on social media suggesting that Atiku’s resignation was ill-timed and politically calculated.
The media aide stressed that the controversy should not overshadow the national mourning following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Those who claim to know why he resigned, are they clairvoyants? I would rather say we speak on something else and not this particular issue, considering the fact that the nation is still in mourning and the memories of the late President, Muhammadu Buhari, who was just interred yesterday, are still fresh,” Ibe added.