A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tajudeen Yusuf, has blamed Alhaji Atiku Abuakar for the party’s loss in the 2023 presidential election.

The former member of the House of Representatives, speaking on the chaos that erupted at the party’s Board of Trustees meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, stated that the party risks repeating the same mistakes if precautions are not taken.

Yusuf pointed out that the PDP’s defeat in the 2023 polls was due to its presidential candidate being too cocky and too overconfident. He emphasised that the internal crisis within the party stems from power struggles among members with ambitions for the 2027 general elections.

“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 said.

According to the ex-lawmaker, the PDP is not playing the opposition as it should be, adding that the crisis rocking the party is orchestrated by overambitious party members.

“The PDP is not playing the opposition as it should because the PDP finds itself in the quagmire of over-ambitious men who believe they must always run for elections. A political party should be robust and not be about you running for election,” Yusuf said.

Yusuf, who represented Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu constituency, claimed that the violence that occurred during the BoT meeting was a manifestation of the party’s leadership failure and a manifestation of the struggle for control and power ahead of the next presidential primary.