Veteran actor and Labour Party chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing it of deceiving Nigerians with its declaration that the party’s 2027 presidential ticket has been zoned to the South.

In a statement on Sunday, Okonkwo argued that true zoning is an arrangement among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, not simply between North and South.

He maintained that since presidential power is currently in the South, the issue of rotation does not apply at the moment.

“Let it be clear that what the PDP did at their last National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting was not zoning, it was deception.

“If all the parties are serious about zoning in the interest of equity, justice, and fairness, then it should go to the South-East, because it is the only geopolitical zone in the South that has never produced a President,” he said.

The Labour Party stalwart recalled that in 1999, all major political parties zoned their presidential tickets to the South-West, producing only Yoruba candidates.

He alleged that the current PDP arrangement is a ploy by some of its leaders to indirectly favour President Bola Tinubu ahead of 2027.

On how opposition parties can defeat Tinubu in the next election, Okonkwo said the only viable strategy is to conduct transparent primaries open to all qualified Nigerians, preferably favouring regions yet to produce a president since 1999.

“The only way to win in 2027 is through free, fair, and credible primaries that produce the best candidate to confront Tinubu and rebuild Nigeria from the ruins of his maladministration,” he stated.