A member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bode George, has denied claims that he did not support the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 election because Abubakar is not from his region.

George, who recently declined his appointment to the PDP National Disciplinary Committee, addressed the issue during a TVC political programme on Sunday night.

The former National Vice Chairman of the party refuted the claims made by the Atiku camp, stating that his lack of support was due to Abubakar allegedly dividing the party during the election campaign.

He said, “When Buhari contested against Atiku Abubakar, they came to ask for my support. I was at the forefront because, at that time, he was favoured as a presidential candidate. I know what I did in Lagos, including my efforts for the first lady, his first wife, and what we did here, all in accordance with the party’s constitution.

“Let me tell you, I have no trace of tribalism in my blood. Today, my best friend is a gentleman I met in the military.

He is a fully bona fide Fulani man. He is my brother at every level. I have many such friends across this country. If you cannot speak the truth to power, then you are deceiving yourself.

“When we returned for the second election, the last election, we saw that things were not right. Someone from the North had just spent eight years. How could we now support another person from the North for another eight years? It doesn’t work that way.

“They manipulated the system. We kept warning them not to do this. He divided the party, which led to our votes being divided, and consequently, we lost. So, how do we move forward? We will set up a committee to review the general election and the post-election period to prepare ourselves.”

The PDP chieftain also urged aggrieved party members to set aside their personal ambitions for the sake of the party’s survival ahead of the 2027 elections. (The PUNCH)