PDP begins zoning process for 2027 presidential ticket

The Peoples Democratic Party has commenced the zoning process for its 2027 presidential ticket.

Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa state, who chairs the PDP convention zoning committee, spoke in Abuja on Monday. 

Diri said the zoning decision was finalised at Saturday’s PDP Governors’ Forum meeting in Gusau, Zamfara state, with stakeholders such as the board of trustees (BoT) representatives, former governors, ministers, and other party organs present.

“One of the decisions that was arrived at in that meeting is that we should not only zone the party offices, but as a national zoning committee, we should equally zone the presidency. So that arose from that meeting,” Diri said.

On July 24, the PDP national executive committee (NEC) approved November 15 and 16 for the convention to elect new national working committee (NWC) members.

The party appointed a 44-member zoning committee for the convention, tasked with allocating the various NWC positions to the geopolitical zones.

Last week, some PDP leaders from the south-east and south-south criticised the committee’s meeting in Lagos, alleging it was held in secret and “several national officers, eminent leaders, and critical stakeholders” were excluded.

The PDP leaders, including some state chairpersons, said they would reject any decision “reached in secrecy”. 

On Thursday, Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, said the party would reach out to the aggrieved members.

NEC TO REVIEW ZONING PROPOSAL

Meantime, the NEC, the highest decision-making organ of the party, is scheduled to meet today at the party’s headquarters.

The NEC is expected to review the committee’s zoning proposal for NWC positions and the presidential ticket.

Speaking after the committee’s meeting on Monday, Diri said the party’s leadership would adopt the committee’s recommendations.

“After we presented our report from the last meeting, the leadership was satisfied with our work, but also directed us to proceed further. They pointed out that, based on the section of the party’s constitution cited in our appointment letters, it is clear that we must handle the zoning of both party offices and the presidency,” he said.

“So today, we are going to look into that as well. As you know, the NEC meeting is scheduled for 2 pm, which is why we convened this session earlier — to take far-reaching decisions, complete our assignment, and report back to NEC on our work.”

In line with precedent, if the party chairmanship goes to the north, the presidential ticket will be zoned to the south and vice-versa.

In 2021, the PDP zoned the chairmanship position to the north, while in 2022, it made the presidential ticket open. The decision triggered a crisis in the party that has lingered on to date.