Nigeria, July 16 -- Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a political platform he helped to found in 1998, citing a departure from the party's founding principles.

In a letter dated July 14 and addressed to the chairman of the PDP in his Jada 1 Ward, Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Atiku said his resignation was with immediate effect.

"I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the Party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles we stood for," he wrote. "It is with a heavy heart that I resign, recognizing the irreconcilable differences that have emerged."

Atiku, who served as Nigeria's vice president between 199...