2027: PDP Zoning Presidency To South Is Coming Too Late – Wike’s Aide

Lere Olayinka, spokesperson to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South is belated and unlikely to change the party’s political fortunes.

Olayinka, who spoke on Channels Television on Wednesday, argued that the PDP missed its chance when Wike and other aggrieved members of the party, including the G-5 governors, called for zoning ahead of the 2023 elections. According to him, if the party had acted then, it would not be facing its present crisis.

“It is too late because we had the chance of doing the right thing three years ago but we did not do it,” he said.
“If we had listened to Wike, probably the PDP wouldn’t be where it is today. Now the head is already off, and we are crying. What we failed to do then cannot be corrected now.”

Olayinka recalled that in 2022, Wike and his allies insisted that the party should respect its zoning arrangement by presenting a southern candidate, since then-President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, was completing his eight-year tenure. The refusal of the PDP leadership to adopt that position, he noted, deepened internal divisions and contributed to its poor outing in the 2023 presidential election.

Looking ahead to 2027, Olayinka stressed that zoning the ticket to the South now presents the PDP with a new dilemma. He explained that the All Progressives Congress (APC) already has President Bola Tinubu, a southerner, who will have completed one term by then and will be eligible for another four years.

“The second thing that makes it too late is that you are now zoning to the South when the ruling party already has its candidate from the South. By 2027, that candidate would have spent four years and still has the constitutional right to seek another term.
Now, if PDP presents a fresh southern candidate, will the North agree to back someone who is starting afresh and could be in office until 2035, or a candidate who will serve only four years?” Olayinka asked.

The PDP had recently resolved to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, a move seen by many as an attempt to reconcile with aggrieved southern leaders who felt marginalized during the last election cycle. However, critics like Olayinka believe the decision is more reactive than strategic and may not yield the expected results.

Meanwhile, to address concerns about northern support, the PDP is reportedly exploring the possibility of presenting a southern candidate with a shorter tenure. Former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi are said to be on the party’s radar.

Jonathan, who has already served one full term, is constitutionally eligible to run for just four more years, while Obi has hinted at a willingness to serve only one term if given the mandate. Both options, party insiders believe, could make a southern ticket more acceptable to the North.

Senator Abba Moro, representing Benue South, confirmed that conversations are ongoing with both men. He noted that if Obi decides to return to the PDP, he could emerge as the party’s flagbearer in 2027.

The debate underscores the PDP’s struggle to reposition itself after a turbulent 2023 election cycle, which exposed deep fractures within the party. Whether zoning the presidency to the South at this stage will resolve those issues—or further complicate them—remains to be seen.