Dr. Umar Ardo has revealed that his continued stay in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the build-up to the 2015 general election was part of a deliberate political strategy aimed at weakening the ruling party from within.
Speaking during an interview aired on the official YouTube channel of Arise News on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Ardo explained that although he played a role in shaping the opposition coalition that eventually won the 2015 presidential election, he never officially became a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, he intentionally remained within the PDP structure to help facilitate the party’s defeat at the polls. “I remained in the PDP to make sure the party went out, so I was never an APC member,” Ardo stated during the interview.
The former political strategist disclosed that after former President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office following the 2015 election victory, he expected to remain politically relevant within the new administration. However, he claimed that Buhari distanced himself from him shortly after taking office, leaving him excluded from the government he helped to establish.
Ardo said the development forced him to continue his political activities within the opposition space for several years before eventually leaving the PDP in 2022.
He expressed disappointment over what he described as the treatment of some early contributors to the coalition that brought about the historic power shift in 2015. According to him, internal betrayals and political exclusion weakened the unity that initially held the alliance together.
Ardo added that the experience should serve as a lesson to emerging opposition groups currently seeking to form alliances ahead of future elections, stressing that trust and inclusion remain essential in coalition politics.
