As the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) prepares for its 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja today, fresh tension has emerged between the North-Central and North-West zones over which region should produce the party’s next national chairman.
According to Naija News, the NEC is expected to deliberate on, and possibly adopt, the Zoning Committee’s recommendation to retain the current zoning formula for party offices ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A Northern NEC member who spoke to Daily Sun insisted that the North-Central was entitled to the position, noting that the zone had yet to complete a full tenure since the exit of former chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
“The North-Central was supposed to hold the chairmanship for four years, but Iyorchia Ayu stepped down after just one year. Since then, the North-East has occupied the seat for three years. It would be unfair to deny North-Central its full tenure. We will not allow the North-West to take it,” the party leader said.
He further argued that the party could achieve balance by picking a vice-presidential candidate from the North-West, given its massive voting strength.
“Yes, North-Central deserves the chairmanship, and I believe that is the fair arrangement. Remember, we can always choose our running mate from the North-West, which has the population advantage. But if the chairmanship goes there, the vice-presidential slot will almost certainly be off-limits. That’s the logic,” he added.
The Northern PDP caucus is expected to meet after the zoning formula is approved to micro-zone the positions allocated to the North among its three geopolitical zones.
