2027: PDP’s Zoning Of Presidency To South Splits Party Leaders, Stakeholders

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, rekindling old wounds within the party and eliciting mixed reactions across the political landscape.

The decision, reached on Monday at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, also reaffirmed Umar Damagum as National Chairman pending the party’s National Convention later this year.

Party leaders said the move was informed by the recommendations of the zoning committee chaired by Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri. However, the resolution has since divided opinion among members and analysts, with some hailing it as a corrective step and others dismissing it as belated and cosmetic.

‘Too late,’ says Wike’s camp

The camp of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, which had long opposed the 2023 decision to throw the ticket open, declared the latest resolution “medicine after death.”

Lere Olayinka, aide to the Minister, said the development vindicated the G-5 governors’ earlier position that the party erred by allowing both the presidential candidate and the National Chairman to emerge from the North.

“Sadly, they know the truth. Wike simply said, take the chairmanship to the South if you want to gain the presidency, but they said no. The PDP lost. Now, three years later, they are coming back to eat their own vomit,” Olayinka remarked.

He argued that the belated zoning would have been meaningful only if the South had been allowed to complete two terms before power rotated back to the North in 2031.

‘Endorsing Tinubu by default’ — Olawepo-Hashim

Former presidential candidate Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim also faulted the decision, describing it as an “unprecedented” departure from the party’s tradition.

Speaking on Channels Television, he said zoning the presidency to the South effectively amounted to endorsing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

“PDP has never zoned out an entire region before. If you are a northerner, you now have to find another platform. This is a default campaign for Tinubu’s return,” he warned.

Onyia: Party back on track

But Ejiofor Onyia, a founding father of the PDP and member of the Board of Trustees, insisted the party was finally “putting things in the right place.”

He accused Wike of working for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) while parading himself as a PDP stakeholder.

“Everything is falling in place. After the convention, we’ll have a new executive to redirect the party. In a democracy, the majority decides, and the minority has its say. Wike has no authority over the party,” Onyia maintained.

Analyst: Cosmetic surgery, not cure

Public Affairs Analyst Nduka Odo of Peaceland University described the zoning resolution as a “cosmetic treatment” for a party facing existential threats.

He argued that while the PDP was returning to its rotational formula of 1999, the decision came too late to reverse its dwindling national relevance.

“Had rotation been observed in 2023, the PDP might have been stronger today. But a lot has happened since then. The formation of the ADC was the final straw. Zoning now doesn’t cure the cancer eating into the bone marrow of the party,” he said.

Odo predicted that the PDP might merely field a southern candidate to cut into Peter Obi’s support base rather than to win outrightly.

“Unfortunately, 2027 may well be the last time PDP features prominently in national politics,” he added.