Presidency: Northern blocs oppose PDP zoning ticket to South

By Clifford Ndujihe, Dapo Akinrefon, Omeiza Ajayi, John Alechenu, Ibrahim Hassan & Luminous Jannamike

LAGOS — The polity had a fore-taste of what to expect in the 2027 presidential elections, yesterday, as the Peoples Democratic Party’s zoning of its presidential ticket to the South is raising dust.

Coming against the backdrop of President Bola Tinubu, another southerner, being backed by critical blocs of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to stand for re-election on the ruling party’s platform, it means any northerner vying for PDP or APC’s presidential flag is on his own.

Both the PDP and the APC have argued that their decisions aligned with the eight-year unwritten rule of power rotation between Northern and Southern Nigeria.

Piqued by the development, some northern stakeholders alleged marginalisation and vowed to speak against the move with their votes in 2027, warning that the PDP’s decision has further weakened its influence in the North.

The National Executive Committee, NEC, of the PDP at its 102nd meeting in Abuja on Monday, resolved that the South should produce the next presidential candidate of the party.

Specifically, the Joint Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations, JACON, saw the PDP’s decision as unjust, undemocratic, and a betrayal of the North’s decades-long loyalty to the party.

North-Central political stakeholders also rejected the PDP’s 2027 zoning template, insisting that the region will not accept continued marginalisation in the nation’s civilian leadership arrangement since independence.

The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement, GHSM, one of the groups backing Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim’s presidential ambition on the platform of the PDP, said zoning the party’s ticket to the South is unconstitutional and strategically dangerous. Olawepo-Hashim is from North-Central.

Leader of the Arewa Youth Assembly, Salihu Danlami, said PDP lost the North and its credibility when it abandoned its power rotation principle in 2023 to field former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, breaking what he described as a gentleman’s agreement.

Also, Abduljabbar Rufai, a PDP chieftain in Kano State said zoning the presidency to the South might affect PDP’s support in parts of the North but argued that the ruling APC could also lose votes if Atiku runs on another platform.

“Of course, zoning the presidency to the South may affect PDP’s chances in parts of the North. But the APC will also be affected, especially if Atiku contests under the ADC. At the end of the day, it will depend on who emerges as the candidate after the primaries next year,” Rufai added.

However, former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George, said PDP members opposing zoning of the presidential slot to the South were being selfish and manipulative.

In like manner, PDP Deputy National Legal Adviser, Mr Okechukwu Osuoha, hailed the zoning decision as a turning point that will unify the party and restore its credibility ahead of the 2027 elections.

Also, Mr. Austin Nwachukwu, Chairman of PDP State Chairmen Forum, said the zoning decision is binding on all members and no longer a subject of controversy, just as PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, strongly defended the zoning decision, insisting it is a strategic step to preserve unity and credibility in the party.

In spite of the angst in some northern quarters, Vanguard gathered that a host of northern leaders see ceding the presidency to the South for another four years as a necessity and were shopping for a credible and salable southern candidate to support. Those being eyed include former President Jonathan and Mr Peter Obi, among others.

Meanwhile, coalition-backed African Democratic Congress, ADC, has flayed the PDP and APC for taking a position on zoning their presidential tickets two years to the poll, which it claimed showed they don’t care about addressing the plights of Nigerians.

Northern youths kick against PDP’s decision

Addressing journalists in Kaduna, the Joint Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations, JACON, said PDP’s action amounted to political marginalisation and warned that it could have “grave consequences” for the party in the forthcoming elections.

According to the group, the North, despite being the backbone of PDP’s electoral victories since 1999, has only held the presidency for two and a half years, compared to 13 and a half years enjoyed by the South under the party’s rule.

A text of the press conference by Ambassador Sani Yaya, Director of Media and Public Affairs, read in part: “It is an undeniable historical fact that the North was short-changed during PDP’s 16 years in power.

“While the South dominated the presidency for over a decade, the North barely had two and a half years. To now zone the ticket back to the South in 2027 is a deliberate attempt to permanently sideline the region.”

The group maintained that fairness and equity demand that PDP return its ticket to the North, insisting that the region deserves the opportunity to complete its own share of leadership.

“The North can no longer continue to be the political beast of burden for a party that only uses its votes but denies it leadership. If this injustice is not corrected, we will mobilise our entire structures to respond appropriately at the polls,” the statement read.

JACON further announced that it will convene an emergency meeting of its affiliate bodies to deliberate on a “comprehensive strategy” to counter PDP’s zoning arrangement.

The youth body also called on Northern political, traditional, and religious leaders to resist what it described as “brazen act of exclusion,” declaring that “the time for acquiescence is over.”

‘We won’t take it’, N-Central stakeholders tell PDP, APC’

Similarly, North-Central political stakeholders rejected PDP’s zoning of its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, insisting that the region will not accept continued marginalisation in the nation’s leadership arrangement.

They also rejected the zoning arrangement of the ruling APC, declaring that any party that does not field a candidate from the zone will not have the votes of the people.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, chairperson of the North Central Renaissance Movement, Professor K’tso Nghargbu, said the decision of the PDP amounts to a deliberate sidelining of the North-Central, which has never produced a civilian president or vice president since independence.

Nghargbu said the North-Central zone had been patient for decades, consistently making peaceful appeals through what he described as “intellectual activism”, rather than violence or sabotage of national assets, yet its demands for fair political inclusion continue to be ignored.

“Any political party that is not willing to zone the presidency to the North—and particularly to the North Central—may not and will not have the votes of our people,” Nghargbu warned.

He argued further that the North Central remains the country’s most strategic region, describing it as a “miniature Nigeria” that hosts all major ethnic nationalities and stands as a unifying force capable of stabilising a divided nation.

Prof Nghargbu said: “At a time Nigeria is bleeding and national trust between northern and southern elites is dwindling, the logical and wise choice is to seek a bridge builder. The North-Central is that bridge builder.”

He dismissed the PDP’s claims that power will return to the North after a four-year stint in the South as unrealistic, stressing that once a president emerged, he will naturally seek a second term.

“The truth is simple: once PDP gets power, it will not stop at four years. Nigerians know this. We have seen it happen before, and it will happen again,” he said.

PDP has lost the North – Salihu

Leader of Arewa Youth Assembly, Salihu Mohammed Danlami, said PDP lost credibility when it abandoned its power rotation principle in 2023.

“There was a gentleman’s agreement on power rotation, eight years in the North, then eight years in the South. In 2019, both APC and PDP fielded northern candidates. Then in 2023, PDP broke the arrangement by abandoning zoning and gave the ticket to Atiku. That was the beginning of the crisis,” he said.

Danlami added that many northerners now see PDP as a weakened platform and had shifted their support to African Democratic Congress, ADC.

“Northerners who are in opposition believe PDP has lost credibility. Many have already decided to move to the ADC. Today, PDP is seen by some as little more than a civil society group advocating others’ interests,” he said.

APC, PDP may lose in North to a strong northern candidate – Rufai

To Abduljabbar Rufai, a party chieftain from Kano, Atiku’s dominance during past primaries had prevented other northern leaders from stepping forward.

“For a long time, Atiku overshadowed other northern leaders during PDP primaries. Now that he has resigned of his own free will, there is space for others to step up. In the past, whatever Atiku said was what the North followed in PDP. That is no longer the case,” he said.

He acknowledged that zoning the presidency to the South might affect PDP’s support in parts of the North, but argued that the ruling APC could also lose votes if Atiku runs on another platform.

“Of course, zoning the presidency to the South may affect PDP’s chances in parts of the North. But the APC will also be affected, especially if Atiku contests under the ADC. At the end of the day, it will depend on who emerges as the candidate after the primaries next year,” Rufai added.

PDP’s decision violates Nigeria, party’s constitutions

The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement, GHSM, also faulted the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Executive Committee, NEC, over its decision to zone the 2027 presidential ticket to the South, describing it as both unconstitutional and strategically dangerous.

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the group warned that the move will not only weaken the party’s chances in 2027 but also expose its candidate to “possible disqualification by the courts.”

He said: “The PDP NEC, despite acting on a resolution that may enjoy majority support, lacks the legal authority to restrict elective offices to any region, as this violates the 1999 Constitution and even the PDP’s own constitution.”

Citing Section 42(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, Hamzat stressed that no citizen could be disqualified from contesting on the basis of ethnicity, region, or political opinion.

He added: “History has shown us that whenever the PDP abandons its democratic tradition of open contests, it pays a heavy price. Zoning the 2027 presidential ticket is not just an error but a dangerous miscalculation.”

The group recalled that in 1999 and 2003, the PDP allowed aspirants from all regions to contest freely, with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Barnabas Gemade, and Alhaji Abubakar Rimi among those cleared.

It argued that the party’s eventual loss of power in 2015 stemmed from shutting out northern aspirants and handing President Goodluck Jonathan an automatic ticket.

Reaffirming its support for Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim’s 2027 ambition, the GHSM said: “We believe Dr. Gbenga Hashim represents the true spirit of unity, inclusivity, and visionary leadership that Nigeria desperately needs. No unconstitutional zoning will deter our movement. We will continue to push for reversal of this error before the November convention.”

PDP members demanding zoning ticket to North selfish — Bode George

However, former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George, described calls for the party to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the North as selfish and manipulative.

The chieftain, who spoke on Channels Television’s programme yesterday, praised the decision of PDP governors and NEC to zone the ticket to the South, while retaining the chairmanship in the North.

“Unanimously, in that NEC meeting yesterday (Monday), we agreed to zone the ticket to the South for the next four years to complete the eight years in the South. But human beings manipulate because they want to grab power, and it’s nothing but self-centredness.

“I must emphatically thank all our governors; they are respectable young men. They held a meeting in Gusau and told themselves the truth, examined the facts and came up to say, ‘look, there is no question of the chairman and president being in the same zone,’” George said.

According to him, the decision ended what he called “existential imbecility” in the party and that those who defected in the past were already returning, recognising that fairness and equity must prevail.

“It’s refreshing to see us come together as one indivisible party. The more divided a house is, the more defeated it becomes,” George noted.

Addressing how PDP intend to handle members like the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike; and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who worked against the party in 2023, George explained that the party will not rush into punitive measures.

“As a political party, you will have all kinds of characters, and your ability to manage those characters will impact positively on the electorate.

“We want them to see that we can be accommodating. You can disagree without being disagreeable. We’ve given these characters some time, but if they cannot roll back and fall in line, then the sledgehammer will be brought on them,” he warned.

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard, George added that each zone of the country could meet and micro-zone positions allocated to it.

His words: “The meeting ended well and it resolved the zoning issue. All the positions in the North will remain, while those in the South will also remain. At the end of the day, each region can micro-zone. The North will meet and decide to micro-zone, while the same thing can be done in the South. What we did on Monday was the concept the founding fathers of the PDP had in mind.

“All those who went with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were at the meeting. Tom Ikimi, Uche Secondus, Aliyu Babangida and others were at the meeting.”

On the possibility of former President Jonathan, former Anambra State governor, Mr Peter Obi, Governor Makinde of Oyo State and northern aspirants vying for the party’s ticket, he said: “Anyone interested in contesting can come out but the people will decide and pick their choice, that is democracy.

‘’When we started in 1999, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme contested. Obasanjo defeated Ekwueme but Ekwueme did not leave or divide the party. It will be the same thing. Affirmatively, the President is going to come from the South.”

Reacting to Lere Olayinka, an aide to the FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who said PDP’s zoning arrangement came too late, George said: “That is his business, is he a member of our party? He is working for his boss (Wike). Is Wike the owner of the party? Is Lere the one to talk for us? Is he a member of our party?”

Zoning decision, a strategic step — Osadolor

Defending the move, PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, said: “Politics is about interests and aligning those interests with what best serves your people and your region.

‘’This support from our northern brothers is about keeping the party free of rancour and fostering unity across all regions. I commend the North for making this sacrifice. But I also urge Southern leaders to rise to the occasion and present their very best candidates,” he said.

Nwachukwu, Osuoha speak

Mr. Austin Nwachukwu, Chairman of the PDP State Chairmen Forum, said the zoning decision was binding on all members and no longer a subject of controversy.

“Zoning the presidency is a party decision, and as members, we are all bound by it. Yes, there was some initial opposition but that is behind us now. The party has taken the right step, and we are satisfied,” he said.

On his part, PDP Deputy National Legal Adviser, Mr Okechukwu Osuoha, hailed the zoning decision.

“The zoning arrangement is the best step the PDP has taken to stabilise the party and prepare it for victory in 2027. We are putting our house in order, and Nigerians should be assured that PDP is ready to rescue the country from the poor governance of the APC,” he said.

Zoning tickets two years to poll anti-people – ADC

Meanwhile, the opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress, ADC, said the decision of the PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, to begin talks about zoning their 2027 presidential tickets two years before the election showed they don’t care about addressing the plights of Nigerians.

“The general election is still in 2027; it’s still two years away,” ADC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, said on Channels Television’s programme yesterday.

“Why are we so preoccupied and behaving in such a way that Nigerians begin to look at the political elite across the political divides that we don’t care about them?” he queried.

Also, Abdullahi claimed that the PDP’s zoning move was a calculated plot to lure Jonathan, Obi and Rotimi Amaechi, who are part of the ADC coalition back to the PDP

Abdullahi, who noted that the PDP was playing a game, said: “Why are they taking the decision two years before the general election?

“They are very experienced people, and they know the implications of showing their way too early. So, it’s either they are playing the predetermined game or batting some people to come around because they’ve been shopping around for who will be the presidential candidate of the party.’’

“When people say the coalition was put together for a particular candidate running elections, in the papers yesterday, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar came out to say he will run for president.

“So, if this whole thing was put together for him, why would he need to come out to say he is running for president? Don’t forget we still have the likes of Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and others who are interested in running, and we have reiterated that they have an equal chance,” he said.

Obi keeps LP, PDP guessing

Following the decision of the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the South, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, is torn between returning to the party or hanging on to the LP.

Obi and his supporters within the PDP had dumped the party ahead of the 2023 elections.

Although Obi has remained quiet on the question as to whether or not he is considering a return to the PDP, close associates revealed he is under pressure by party leaders to return.

One of the founding leaders of the Obidient Movement, an umbrella body for all of Obi’s support groups, Dr. Katch Ononuju, who was one of those who followed when Obi left the party, said: “Discussions are on. It is no longer a secret, Obi is still consulting. People all over are talking to him and he is talking to them. If you remember, the refusal of the PDP to zone the presidential ticket to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years was the main reason we left.”

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