Atiku’s Former Aide Rejoins PDP After Initially Decamping with His Boss

By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi / posted September 2, 2025

Comrade Odih Rowland, former Director-General of the Atiku Youth Wing Campaign Organization, has executed a stunning political maneuver by returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) just 26 days after defecting to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on August 1, 2025, , with his former Boss His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and flagbearer of the PDP in the last presidential election.

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In a introspective letter to PDP National Chairman Umar Damagum, Comrade Rowland explained that his brief defection as a fishing attempt at “political realignment” to understand the contextual structures within the party’s recent internal wrangling that impacted the leadership. Nonetheless, his swift return underscores a powerful truth: the PDP remains the unassailable home for Nigeria’s political numerate minds, a deep insight that every potential defector, especially the governors must heed as 2027 looms.

Rowland’s letter was an eloquent testimony in political humility, conviviality and resolve. He lauded the PDP’s enduring commitment to truth, justice and internal democracy, crediting the party for nurturing his 24-year career. His return was hailed and formalized at the PDP National Headquarters in Abuja on August 27, 2025, signposting PDP’s magnetic pull and resilience

“I ventured out to test new waters, but the PDP’s unmatched legacy and vision drew me back,” he wrote, singling out Damagum’s leadership for stabilizing the party and positioning it for victory in 2027”, he said.

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The return move by the Atiku’s former aide can be gleaned beyond a personal perspective but more as a clarion call to defectors, particularly governors who have abandoned or mulling abandoning PDP, the party that gave them political premium, for other parties. HIs brief foray into the ADC enabled him to appreciate that the limitations of smaller platforms, cannot be equated with political behemoth like PDP in terms of national clout, grassroots network and ideological depth shaped by years of experience

Importantly, the return was strategic and born out of several consultations with ward, local government, state and national leaders, who identifies with PDP’s enduring legacy of political accomplishment instead of the uncharted waters of new parties. The comrade opined that rather than flee the party, members should embrace conversations that will deepen the never-ending reforms that the party is undergoing. He called on the defecting governors to realized there’s no lasting virtue in short-term power or whatever personal dividends they may garner to themselves.

Without predilection regards to the circumstances of his brief decampment, Rowland’s return to PDP is a bold statement of intelligence and political redemption, thus emerging stronger and providing needed leadership for his supporters, especially with 2027 elections circle beckoning.

Emerging from what would have been a political misadventure, at this junction of time, Rowland encourages governors who have left the PDP’s fold to consider recanting and rejoining the party as stronger internal disputes resolution mechanism are being put in place to accommodate every opinion, saying “the Umbrella is big enough to cover us and our shortcomings”

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For now, his message is his message is unequivocal, noting that: “no party rivals the PDP’s legacy, reach, or resilience. With 2027 on the horizon, defectors must follow my footsteps, recognizing that in Nigerian politics, there’s no place like the PDP’s home”, said Rowland.