The battle over who picks the presidential ticket of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2027 general election has officially begun after the party zoned the ticket to southern Nigeria last week.
The PDP, during its 102nd NEC meeting at its national secretariat in Abuja, agreed to zone its presidential ticket to the South, while the position of the national chairman remains in Northern Nigeria.
The decision followed the presentation of a report by the zoning committee chaired by Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri. He further disclosed that the party also retained the existing national working committee zoning formula for the November elective convention.
Before the crucial NEC meeting, feuding camps in the PDP were locked in a deep battle for the soul of the party, with the issue of zoning of the party’s presidential ticket being a contentious one plaguing the party.
A prolonged leadership crisis ensued in the PDP i when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the party’s presidential candidate in the last 2023 presidential election after the party threw its ticket open.
A former governor of Rivers State, and currently Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, some governors, and a host of other members, displeased by the decision, revolted against the party and worked against its presidential candidate.
Party leaders say the decision was necessitated by the need for justice and equity, since the last administration which was headed by a Northerner, ruled the country for eight years.
They say the decision is necessary to salvage the once-largest political party in Africa.
However, there have been divergent views about the party’s move in the polity, with many doubting the sincerity of the leaders over the decision.
In recent days, party members and groups in Northern part of the country have come out to criticise the leaders of the PDP for taking such a decision, stressing that it could backfire, resulting in PDP losing support and valuable votes from the region in the 2027 general election.
They stated that the decision was a message that Northerners could look for another party and was not welcome in the PDP.
Many politicians within and outside the party say the party’s decision to zone the presidential ticket to southern Nigeria amounts to an endorsement of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, by default.
There is the feeling among some chieftains within the party, that the leaders cannot be trusted and that those who are mounting the campaign of zoning to the south are the same people who are saying, “we are in PDP, but we work for President Bola Tinubu”.
Furthermore, there are PDP’s chieftains who believe the current efforts to convince former president Goodluck Jonathan and Peter Obi to pick the party’s presidential ticket in 2027 was just a smoke screen that would fail and ultimately the party would endorse Tinubu for re-election.
“Let me tell you, this is my own position. The zoning of the presidency to the south is a default campaign for the return of President Asiwaju.
“This is because those who are mounting this campaign of zoning to the south are the same people who are saying, we are in PDP, but we work for President Asiwaju.
“So, it’s a default campaign, for the PDP not to have a viable candidate by those people,” Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, chieftain of the PDP, said.
Veteran journalist, Dele Momodu, and former presidential aspirant, maintained that zoning of presidential tickets is not constitutional.
Momodu declared that there was no formidable actor from the North that can confront President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Momodu said: “Tinubu has already locked down the South by taking out Delta, Akwa Ibom, disorganizing Rivers State – Fubara is neither here nor there, even if he comes back tomorrow, he would have to toe the line.
“The other states are being worked at so that they can grab them, if they have a choice Tinubu will not have any candidates contesting against him.
“And once you limit and restrict the presidential election to the South, there is no formidable actor from the North. It is as good as giving it to Asiwaju on a platter.
“The governors know what they are doing, those looking for a second term know what they are doing not to seem to be opposed to Asiwaju because this is state capture.
“When did Nigeria degenerate that people are afraid to speak truth to power? So, just because our friend is the President today it means that all of us must become timid and nobody wants to talk.”
Read also: Anyone in APC free to challenge Tinubu in 2027, says Party
Zoning necessary
Ejiofor Onyia, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, said everything has started to fall in the right place for the party with the latest decision.
He noted that zoning the presidency to the south was a necessary decision that ought to be taken to save the party from further crisis, while commending the party leadership for unity.
Onyia also accused the FCT minister of working for an opposition party – the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
He said: “Everything is falling in place after the convention, then we have a new executive that will start moving the party in the direction we want it to go.
“You see, let me make it clear, we have a party, and we have an executive of the party. We have the constitution that guides the activities of the party.
“Now, as of today, the FCT minister is working for an opposition party, right? Okay, he’s not holding any executive position in the party, okay? And he does not have the power to decide what the party does.
“So, he can take any decision, react anyhow he likes, as an individual. But that does not stop the party from doing what the constitution has provided for the party to do.
“I’m a founding father of this party, not a founding member. I was one of those that started this party from the beginning, and he wasn’t. And therefore, they all joined us.
“They are members, but everybody has an equal right. Everybody in the party has his own right. Nobody exercises a higher right than the other.”
Zoning may not save PDP – Analysts
The zoning of the PDP’s presidential ticket to the south may not save the party or guarantee electoral success in 2027, because key issues which led to disagreement have not been settled, analysts have told BusinessDay.
The analysts stated that the party must resolve internal crisis which is currently plaguing many states chapters, which had rendered the party incapable of competing against the ruling party in the 2027 general election.
They noted that talk about zoning is a “cosmetic treatment” that does not address the fundamental challenges facing the party.
“This crisis goes beyond zoning; how does the party resolve the two factions existing in the South-south, which is legitimate? Several state chapters are in crisis or simply an appendage of the ruling party.
“If these issues are not resolved I don’t see any party competing against APC in 2027 even if you bring Jonathan,” Tunde Onokoya, a political analyst, said.
Nduka Odo, a public affairs analyst and communication scholar at Peaceland University, said the zoning decision was consistent with the party’s old formula of rotation adopted since 1999 but questioned its relevance in the current political climate.
According to him, had the principle of rotation been applied during the 2023 elections, the PDP might have been in a stronger position today.
He, however, argued that the party has lost significant ground since then, adding that the formation of the ADC was the final straw.
He said: “It’s interesting to observe the outcome of the convention held by the NEC of the PDP.
“The decision they took aligns with the predictions I made elsewhere. There’s no upsetting pronouncement or action coming from the NEC meeting.
“I give the team kudos for reverting to the old formula observed by the PDP since 1999. It’s a credit to them for thinking in that line towards 2027.
“The PDP was built on rotation. Even as a gentleman’s agreement, rotation helped things move smoothly. If that principle had been observed in the 2023 general elections, the party would probably have been in a better place today.
“Unfortunately, a lot has happened since 2023, and one can hardly state boldly whether this decision was taken to strengthen the party or to keep it as a stooge for the ruling party.
“If the stakeholders of the party are interested in rebuilding it, it’ll take much more than mouthing that they have zoned the 2027 presidential ticket to the South.
“We need to ask: can the PDP win significant votes today? How many state governors are in the PDP? One in the South East, one in the South-South.
“The party no longer holds sway. The formation of the ADC was the final straw.
“I see this zoning as a cosmetic treatment for the core cancer eating deep into the bone marrow of the party. The real issue of concern is about who is in charge of the party and what the conspicuous and hidden missions of the party’s current structure are.
“Who in the South can lead the party against the APC, ADC, and LP? Governor Mbah, Governor Diri, Osun’s Adeleke, or Oyo’s Governor Makinde?
“These individuals are doing well on their own and may not need central PDP support to win reelection.
“Since they didn’t change the leadership of the party, it’s best to assume that Nyesom Wike is still in control. And who does Wike currently work for? Well, the answer tells you everything you need to know.”
Temitope Musowo, political analyst, advised the party to regain its grassroots structures and fix the troubles in several state chapters to be able to compete, fearing that some chieftains could not be trusted.
“My fear is that many of them are working for Wike and the APC; so, despite zoning, I don’t want to believe them yet,” Musowo said.
