The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while retaining the party’s National Chairman in the North has been described as a vindication of the position taken by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the G-5 governors in 2022.
Reacting to the resolution of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said the development confirmed that the party had come around to the same stance earlier pushed by Wike and his allies.
“Now, that the party has realised its mistake of not listening to Wike and the G-5 in 2022, and have chosen to do what they said, three years after, have they not been vindicated now?” Olayinka asked.
He recalled the events of 2022, stressing that Wike and the G-5 had insisted on balancing party leadership and the presidential ticket across regions. “Recall that the FCT Minister and the G-5 had insisted that the presidential candidate of the PDP and its National Chairman must not remain in the same zone, insisting that since Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, from the North had emerged as the presidential candidate, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, also from the North must resign to pave the way for a National Chairman from the South. Ayu, however insisted on not resigning, with Atiku and his group backing him. Aftermath of this was the electoral misfortune the party suffered in 2023, followed by instability after the elections,” he said.
Olayinka noted that the NEC’s latest decision was an acknowledgment of that error. “But today, the NEC resolved that since the National Chairman of the party is zoned to the North, the PDP 2027 Presidential ticket be zoned to the South. Has PDP not come back to eat its own vomit?” he queried.
He further criticised the party’s delay in accepting the G-5’s position, suggesting that the correction might have come too late. “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, they must take the two, and the PDP lost!”
“They have realised the mistake they made in 2022 and are correcting it in 2025. But is it not too late already, bearing in mind that the only way the zoning can be justified is for the South to conclude its eight years, while the presidency returns to the North in 2031?” Olayinka added.
The PDP’s zoning resolution is seen as a crucial step ahead of the 2027 elections, reigniting debates over leadership balance within the party.
Follow us on: