The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) narrowly avoided a major internal crisis ahead of its 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Monday, after a plot to suspend National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu was halted through the intervention of former Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki. However, the party’s decision at the meeting to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region has triggered backlash from opposition groups and stakeholders.
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The PDP caucus, largely comprising the party’s governors, had resolved to suspend Anyanwu over his refusal to sign a letter notifying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the party’s forthcoming national convention. Anyanwu insisted that fresh congresses be conducted in South-east states, including Ebonyi and Anambra, before signing the letter, a condition that angered the caucus.
According to sources, tensions escalated until Saraki intervened, cautioning that suspending Anyanwu could destabilize the party ahead of the convention. He engaged directly with the National Secretary, who eventually agreed to sign the letter without conditions, thereby averting a deeper rift within the PDP leadership.
At the NEC meeting, the PDP zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while retaining the national chairmanship in the North. This mirrors a similar move by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which in May 2022 adopted President Bola Tinubu, a southerner, as its sole candidate for the next election. Both parties justified their decisions on the basis of the unwritten North-South power rotation arrangement.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), however, condemned such early zoning arrangements as “anti-people.” ADC spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, said both parties’ decisions reflect misplaced priorities at a time when Nigerians face pressing economic and social challenges. He questioned the PDP’s motives, describing the zoning move as a possible political ploy or a predetermined script.
Abdullahi stressed that the ADC would not be distracted by zoning politics but would instead focus on building coalitions and mobilizing grassroots support. He mentioned that the party remains open to aspirants from all regions, with figures such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rotimi Amaechi often cited as potential candidates.
The Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM), which backs PDP stalwart Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim’s 2027 presidential bid, branded the zoning decision a “constitutional and strategic blunder.” In a statement, its National Coordinator, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, argued that the NEC lacks the power to restrict elective offices to any region, warning that the decision violates Section 42(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which forbids discrimination, and Section 7(2)(c) of the PDP Constitution, which requires compliance with national law.
The group warned that such zoning could expose the PDP to legal battles, potentially disqualifying its candidates. Olawepo-Hashim himself, in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, dismissed the zoning as a “default campaign” for President Tinubu’s re-election, alleging that some PDP members advocating the decision are aligned with Tinubu’s political interests. He recalled that past PDP primaries in 1999 and 2003 were open contests across all regions, with figures like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and Alhaji Abubakar Rimi competing freely.
The Joint Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations (JACON) also denounced the PDP’s zoning arrangement, calling it “anti-democratic” and a “betrayal” of the North’s loyalty to the party since 1999. Speaking at a press conference in Kaduna, JACON’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Sani Yaya, described the decision as “political marginalization.”
He noted that under PDP’s 16 years in power, the North held the presidency for only two and a half years compared to the South’s 13 and a half years. Yaya warned that zoning the 2027 ticket to the South risks alienating northern voters and undermining national cohesion. JACON vowed to mobilize against the move in the run-up to the elections.
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