Dickson Iroegbu, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has blamed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 presidential ambition for the emergence of President Bola Tinubu, describing Atiku as a political “principality” whose actions have weakened the opposition.
Speaking on the Mic On Podcast on Saturday, July 4, 2026, Iroegbu said, “Atiku has become like a principality. If not for the aspiration of Atiku in 2023, we wouldn’t have had Tinubu come to power.”
He argued that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) entered the 2023 election deeply divided after Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso left the party ahead of the 2022 presidential primaries, citing disagreements over its leadership and candidate selection process. Obi later contested under the Labour Party, while Kwankwaso ran on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
Iroegbu also pointed to the fallout between Atiku and former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as a major factor that further fractured the PDP.
In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu won with 8.79 million votes, while Atiku polled 6.98 million, Obi secured 6.10 million and Kwankwaso received 1.50 million votes.
