NDC acted wisely by zoning presidency to South — Victor Umeh

By Lawrence Agbo

Senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, has described the decision by the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South as a smart political calculation aimed at strengthening national cohesion.

Umeh, who spoke on Sunday Politics aired on Channels Television, said the move reflects an understanding of Nigeria’s delicate political structure and the need to respect the informal power-sharing arrangement between the North and the South.

He explained that the party resolved during its convention that the South should complete the remaining four years of what he described as its constitutional and political expectation of an eight-year hold on the presidency before power returns to the North in 2031.

“The motion that was moved yesterday was that the presidency is zoned to the South for four years and in 2031 when the South would have completed the four years of the eight years due to the South, automatically the presidency should revert to the North,” he said.

“That is how you preserve national unity. You cannot pretend that people are very sensitive to these things. NDC was strategic enough to reason in that direction.”

According to him, such an arrangement helps prevent unnecessary tension and reassures all sections of the country that fairness remains part of the political process.

Umeh noted that delegates at the convention strongly supported the zoning formula, insisting that ignoring regional sensitivities in a diverse country like Nigeria could threaten stability.

He said the decision was not just about politics but also about protecting the unity of the country by ensuring that no region feels excluded from national leadership.

“Mr. Obi, for example, started a long time ago to say that he will spend only four years and give way. He knows that he cannot do a second term because Tinubu is already doing four years for the South,” Umeh stated.

“So, that sense of reason prevailed in the NDC. The NDC decided to zone the presidency to the South for the remaining four years of the eight-year term due to Southern Nigeria.”

Speaking on the possibility of former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi emerging under the NDC platform, Umeh said Obi had consistently maintained that he would spend only four years in office if elected president.