The decision by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to allocate the party’s presidential ticket to the South while retaining the national chairmanship position in the North has been described as a significant affirmation of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Gatekeepers News reports the perspective was shared by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, in a statement released on Monday.
Olayinka emphasised that the party’s previous choice not to zone the presidential ticket to the South for the 2023 elections contributed to its electoral challenges.
“Now that the party has realised its mistake of not listening to Wike and the G-5 in 2022, and has chosen to do what they said, three years later, have they not been vindicated now?
“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,” Olayinka said.
The minister’s aide also said that the PDP had realised its mistake but wondered if the party’s decision was not already too late.
He stated, “Has PDP not come back to eat its own vomit? 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?”
PDP announced its decision to zone the party’s presidential ticket for the upcoming 2027 elections to the southern region of Nigeria, while retaining the national chairmanship position in the northern part of the country.
The zoning decision was made during a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja, where the party also reaffirmed Umar Damagum as its substantive national chairman.
Damagum, who previously served as the PDP National Deputy Chairman (North), became the acting national chairman in March 2023 following the suspension of former chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu, a decision that was subsequently upheld by a court.
