Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP have expressed worry over its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s long stay abroad.
Atiku who travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for over three weeks now is said to have travelled from there to the United Kingdom (UK).
Following the development, several PDP stakeholders are said to be worried that its presidential candidate who should at this critical time be at the forefront of meetings with aggrieved leaders of the party like the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike; Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and others, is nowhere to be found.
Truthlive.net recalls how that several of the party’s stalwarts had made reference to how the former Vice President left Nigeria for Dubai immediately after the 2019 general elections and the same thing is already happening while the election is barely a few months away.
In April 2021, Atiku left Nigeria and remained in the UAE where he spent over seven months before returning back to the country to kick off plans for his 2023 presidential ambition.
Similarly, a source disclosed that the former Vice President, who has been in Dubai since June has moved to the UK for his Master’s Degree Convocation.
In November 2021, Atiku was said to have concluded his Master in International Relations degree program at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
The institution is scheduled to hold its graduation ceremonies in Chelmsford, Cambridge and Peterborough beginning from July 11 to 29, 2022.
Also of concern and great worry to the party leaders is the Osun State governorship election slated for next week.
A party leader who pleaded anonymity said that it will be out of place if Atiku did not return to the country for the Osun election as he did in the case of Ekiti.
His word: “He was not in Ekiti, won’t he be in Osun too? How are we going to explain his absence? Or is it that he does not understand the importance of the Ekiti and Osun elections? Maybe he is feeling that after winning the primary, he has automatically won the main election,” a PDP leader who is from Plateau State lamented.
Others said, “how will Atiku will be away at a time like this, which is the last Sallah celebration before the 2023 general elections?”