Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and other southern politicians have been handed a fresh opportunity to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoned its presidential ticket to the South.
The decision was reached on Monday at the party’s 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where members also upheld the current National Working Committee (NWC) zoning formula for the November elective convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, and confirmed Umar Damagum as substantive National Chairman.
Announcing the resolutions after the meeting, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the zoning arrangement was recommended by the 44-member committee chaired by Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri.
Reading the communiqué, Ologunagba stated, “NEC received and, after extensive deliberation, approved the report of the National Convention Zoning Committee, which recommended that all PDP National Office positions currently in the Northern region of the country remain in the Northern region.
“That all PDP National Office positions currently in the Southern region of the country remain in the Southern region.
“That having retained the position of the National Chairman in the Northern region of the country, the Presidential candidate of the party for the 2027 general election is hereby zoned to the Southern region.
“That the regions should immediately micro-zone positions within their region for implementation.”
He added that NEC expressed satisfaction over the level of preparedness of the PDP’s organs, chapters, and structures ahead of the party’s elective convention scheduled for Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025.
Ologunagba further noted that the meeting commended the efforts of PDP governors, Board of Trustees, NWC, National Assembly Caucus, and other party organs toward ensuring a successful convention.
Meanwhile, loyalists of the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, including Obidient Movement national coordinator, Tanko Yunusa, said the former Anambra governor needed more time to reflect before making a decision on his political future.
But reacting to the PDP zoning, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, dismissed the move, saying the party was destined for defeat regardless of who it fields.
“Whether North or South, PDP cannot win in 2027. Nigerians have seen through them and know the APC is the only option for progress,” Ibrahim said.
Zoning has repeatedly shaped PDP’s political fortune, often plunging the party into crisis. In 2015, northern members opposed ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid, insisting the ticket should rotate back to their region, a move that contributed to the APC’s victory.
The same dispute resurfaced in 2023 when five governors, led by then Rivers State Governor and now FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, opposed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy.
Though the committee led by ex-Benue Governor Samuel Ortom threw the ticket open, the aggrieved governors insisted the South deserved the slot after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in power.
Following Senator Iyorchia Ayu’s removal as PDP National Chairman in 2023 by a court ruling, North Central leaders demanded to fill the position, but the request was rejected. The fallout triggered the defection of key figures like ex-Senate President David Mark, Senator Dino Melaye, and former Benue Governor Gabriel Suswam to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Ologunagba said the NEC also confirmed Damagum as substantive National Chairman, effective August 25, 2025, in recognition of his role in stabilising the party pending the national convention.
