Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has zoned its presidential ticket to the southern region of the country.
The party also resolved that the position of National Chairman would remain in the North.
These decisions were reached during the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja.
The NEC further ratified Umar Damagum as the substantive National Chairman. Damagum had assumed the role in an acting capacity in March 2023 following the suspension of former chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu, a move later upheld by the courts. Prior to his elevation, Damagum served as the PDP’s Deputy National Chairman (North).
Zoning remains a divisive issue
The question of zoning the PDP’s presidential ticket has long been a contentious issue in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Currently, the presidency is held by a southerner, former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, who was declared winner of the 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Tinubu’s party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has already endorsed him as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The PDP faced internal turmoil during the 2023 cycle when it chose to leave the presidential ticket open, leading to the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar — a northerner — as the party’s flagbearer. That decision sparked significant backlash, notably from former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who went on to support Tinubu in the general election.
Although the PDP has yet to formally announce its 2027 candidate, Wike — now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and a prominent PDP figure — warned in May 2025 that zoning the ticket to the North would be a strategic error.
“As a party, come out openly now and say our presidential candidate will come from the South,” Wike urged during a media parley in Abuja on May 12. “You don’t want to do that; you want to play the same game you played in 2023. It will backfire.”
He continued: “This smartness will not help you. Come out now and let everybody know this is where we are heading. This is not the time to send the presidency to the North.”
Wike also argued that a failure to properly manage zoning could trap the PDP in a political disadvantage: “If Mr President [Tinubu] runs and wins again in 2027, by 2031, the APC will zone the ticket to the North. What will the PDP do then? Say ‘let’s also keep it in the North’? What kind of smartness is that?”
