The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has resolved to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while retaining the position of National Chairman in the North.
The decision was reached on Monday at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where leaders also confirmed Ambassador Umar Damagum as substantive National Chairman. Damagum had been in acting capacity since March 2023, following the suspension of Senator Iyorchia Ayu—a decision upheld by the courts. Before then, he was PDP Deputy National Chairman (North).
Zoning remains one of the most contentious issues in Nigerian politics. President Bola Tinubu, a southerner and former Lagos State governor, currently occupies the presidency after winning the 2023 elections under the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has already adopted him as its candidate for 2027.
In contrast, the PDP’s decision to throw its ticket open in 2023 allowed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, from the North, to emerge as its flagbearer—a move that sparked internal divisions. Then-Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, openly opposed the decision and eventually backed Tinubu, deepening the PDP’s crisis.
Now serving as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wike had in May 2025 warned the PDP against zoning its ticket northward again.
“As a party, come out openly now and say our presidential candidate will come from the South. If you play the same game as in 2023, it will backfire,” he said during a media parley in Abuja on May 12.
He further argued that if Tinubu wins re-election in 2027, the APC will naturally zone its ticket to the North by 2031, leaving the PDP politically stranded if it fails to balance its own arrangements.
While the PDP has not yet named its presidential candidate, the NEC’s zoning resolution marks a significant realignment ahead of the 2027 polls.
