TheCable

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has congratulated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on its 25th anniversary. 

In a statement issued by his media office on Friday, Abubakar, who was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, said the party will bounce back and provide a “responsive” government for Nigerians.

The former vice-president said the party has had a positive impact on the nation’s socio-economic and political development.

He described the PDP as a “progenitor” of Nigeria’s democracy, saying the party will ensure that democracy not only survives but continues to thrive. 

The former vice-president said he takes pride in being one of the founding members of the PDP and participating in the process of nurturing the party from infancy. 

“In the 16 years that the PDP was at the helm of affairs in our country, the party offered quality leadership through various administrations and the achievements recorded in those 16 years have remained the benchmark for positive growth in our economy and other critical areas of our national life,” Abubakar was quoted as saying. 

Abubakar said the PDP took a “leading role in the deconstruction” of military rule in Nigeria, promising that the party would rise to tackle the economic hardship and other structural deficiencies affecting Nigerians.

The PDP was founded in 1998. The party won the presidential election four times and was defeated in 2015 by the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

The party is facing several challenges, including internal divisions and declining popularity. 

Abubakar and the PDP are currently contesting the outcome of the 2023 presidential election at the tribunal.