Former PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed reports claiming he is leaving the party. He stated that such reports are merely attempts to disrupt the ongoing coalition efforts. Speculation had arisen that Atiku was finalizing plans to defect to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). However, his media office clarified on Saturday that he remains a committed member of the PDP. A statement by his media office said: “We have observed that some news platforms are peddling unverified information that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party. “We wish to clarify that the so-called news of Atiku defecting to another party is a total fallacy that holds no merit in logic.” Abubakar stressed that a coalition would accommodate all opposition parties, including the PDP. It added: “Hence, it is fallacious and unfounded to allege that the Waziri is jumping the PDP ship. Such an allegation is antithetical to the objective of the grand coalition, which the former Vice President is currently driving alongside other prominent political leaders in the country. “We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Atiku remains a principal bonafide member of the PDP, the main opposition party.” The statement stressed that the defection claims were an attempt to “confuse Nigerians about the magnitude of the grand coalition that is at work to rescue Nigeria from the grip of the APC”.