Posted by Atiku Abubakar, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) former Vice President and presidential contender in the 2023 elections, has returned to Nigeria ahead of the much-anticipated National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
Atiku, who has been out of the country for weeks, returned early on Tuesday, according to a source.
The PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC), chaired by Ambassador Illiya Damagum, was pressed to schedule the NEC meeting for April 18 after refusing to do so for more than a year. The NEC, the party’s second most powerful decision-making institution after the national convention, is scheduled to meet every quarter, as required by the party’s constitution.
According to party sources, the upcoming NEC conference has the potential to make or break the party.
Atiku, the party’s de facto leader after running for president in the last election, is scheduled to lead other sessions ahead of the NEC meeting.
This comes as unrest has grown over the party’s inadequate management in the face of allegations that the party was being controlled by external powers, as claimed by former Benue State governor Senator Gabriel Suswam.