Abuja: Fresh cracks have emerged within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as southern leaders clash over the party’s zoning arrangement ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A group of state chairmen, lawmakers, and former party officials from the South yesterday dismissed the Lagos consultative meeting of the PDP Zoning Committee as “illegal” and unrepresentative of the collective will of the party.
In a joint statement, the chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers PDP chapters Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, Venatius Ikem, Aniekan Akpan, and Aaron Chukwuemeka alongside other prominent stakeholders, condemned the meeting.
They argued that key leaders, including former governors and national officers, were deliberately excluded from the deliberations convened under the directive of Bayelsa State Governor and zoning committee chair, Douye Diri.
According to them, Any resolutions or communiqués from the Lagos meeting are neither binding on, nor reflective of, the aspirations of PDP members in Southern Nigeria. Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot assume the authority of consensus.
But Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who attended the meeting, insisted that it was part of ongoing consultations ahead of the National Executive Committee (NEC) session slated for Monday, August 25.
“This consultative meeting is not statutory, but democracy is inclusivity. We are reaching out and ensuring that stakeholders are carried along,” Makinde said.
He stressed that the focus should not yet be on producing a southern presidential candidate but on keeping the party united.
We must first have a party that Nigerians can believe in. Without that, everything else will fall flat,” he added.
Makinde, joined by Governors Douye Diri and Ademola Adeleke, as well as BOT Chairman Adolphus Wabara and other PDP heavyweights, said the Lagos meeting demonstrated the party’s determination to reposition itself.
The dissenting southern leaders, however, maintained that the exclusion of several state chairmen, senators, and past governors was unacceptable. They warned that such actions could deepen the rift in the party if not urgently addressed.
Meanwhile, some PDP figures, including South-South caretaker chairman Emma Ogidi and Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor, defended the Lagos gathering, describing it as a legitimate consultative process within the party’s structure.
As the NEC meeting approaches, analysts say the outcome of the zoning debate could define the PDP’s unity and readiness to challenge the ruling party in 2027.
