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•Party leaders intensify push for Southern presidential candidate
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
There are indications that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is considering a retention of its zoning formula for National Working Committee (NWC) seats in choosing the next of officials, who will lead the party to the 2027 general elections.
This is coming as leaders intensify moves for the PDP to cede its 2027 presidential candidate to the Southern part to increase chances of the party in the next general elections as well as assuage the feelings of stakeholders from the region, who felt that the area was unfairly treated in the 2023 contest, where the North produced both the standard bearer and national chairman.
Former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, while speaking on behalf of PDP elders at a party function recently canvassed zoning of the presidential ticket to the South to promote justice, fairness and equity.”
Daily Sun investigations reveal that usually the PDP swap NWC positions between North and South every four years. However, ahead of the national convention scheduled for Ibadan, Oyo State between November 15-16, stakeholders are insisting that the party retains the national chairmanship in the North to pave the way for the emergence of a Southern presidential candidate.
The national chairmanship of the PDP is currently zoned to the North and micro-zoned to the North Central while the national secretary position zoned to the South is micro-zoned to the South East. Other positions zoned to the North are deputy national chairman (North); national organising secretary, national treasurer, national youth leader and national legal adviser while the positions zoned to the South include deputy national chairman (South), deputy national secretary, national publicity secretary, national financial secretary, national auditor and national woman leader.
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A national official of the PDP told Daily Sun that the tradition has been North-South Dichotomy. If the presidential candidate is from the South, the national chairman would automatically be from the North. “Otherwise by now, we should have been talking about taking the national chairmanship to the South. But we have also seen that the wisest option is for us to consider a Southern presidential candidate. Therefore, the North is favoured to retain the national chairmanship.”
Similarly, a PDP leader from the North West told Daily Sun: “We are looking at the ultimate end of the stick, the presidential candidate, which we are looking towards the South. So, if this is the case, altering the zoning of NWC seats will now give us some problems. As it is presently, the national chairman is from the North; if it is now zoned to the South, it will make it difficult for us to have a southern presidential candidate. That is what has prompted some persons from the North to start indicating interest in the national chairmanship.”
Daily Sun gathered that though the National Zoning Committee headed by Bayelsa State Governor, Diri Douye, is expected to come up with a formal position on the issue, the panel will be guided by the sentiments of party members.
Nonetheless, another party source noted that while the leaders are pushing for the retention of the existing zoning formula, there are also lobbying for the NWC positions to be swapped among geo-political zones and states to give every zone and state a sense of belonging.
“The party is inclined to retain existing zoning of position between North and South and then swap positions among the zones in a particular region. The party is inclined to that. It is not a matter of one person’s idea. It is an inclination of many party leaders. For instance, in the North, the national chairmanship in the outgoing NWC is zoned to the North central, in the coming dispensation, it could be micro-zoned to another geo-political zone. Same thing will apply to other positions,” he said.
