Buhari sorry over ex-VP's resignation from APC

President Muhammadu Buhari appeared to express his regrets over the resignation of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) while he was speaking at the Presidential Villa on Monday, November 27, 2017.

During his inauguration of the 30-member tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee at the Council Chambers on Monday, the president addressed the national chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, and said, "accept my sympathy for losing a senior member of your party."

Atiku's resignation

In a resignation letter signed by Atiku on Friday, November 24, he accused President Muhammadu Buhari of neglecting him and condemned the APC for "instituting a regime of a draconian clampdown on all forms of democracy".

In a reaction to his exit from the ruling party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) urged him to return to the party where he served as the deputy to former President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007, and lost the primaries election to former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

While Atiku failed to mention which party he'll be joining, or whether he'll contest for the presidency in 2019, he's expected to pitch his tent with the PDP after a series of private meetings with the party's leadership.

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Atiku's presidential ambition

Atiku has contested for the president's seat a number of times, losing to the late President Umaru Yar'Adua in the 2007 presidential election and losing in the primaries to eventual winners President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and President Buhari of the APC in the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections respectively.

While speaking to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday, Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai warned Atiku that no Nigerian can currently match President Buhari in popularity and contest against him in an election.