The presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar suffered a serious blow in Gombe State, at the weekend, as its coordinator, Rose Simon, and six other prominent members defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Immediate past women leader of Gombe PDP, Mole Bennett, and a former commissioner in the state, Bakura Bajoga, had, last week, defected to NNPP.

Prominent members of the PDP that left the party included the Special Assistant to former Governor Hassan Dankwambo, Grace Joshua and Saul Damagun.

Others were: Labilwa Madugu, Kawu Kaltungo, Safiyanu Magaji and James Danbaba.

Within the last week, the forum of past PDP women leaders from the 11 local councils of Gombe staged a peaceful protest against exclusion from the campaign council of the PDP governorship candidate, Jubreel Barde.

It was after the protest that the leader of the forum, Bennett, resigned from membership of the party.