Nigeria’s political landscape caught an early glimpse of the 2027 presidential contest as controversy brews over the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to zone its presidential ticket to the South.
This move, announced during the PDP’s 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, has sparked discontent among key northern stakeholders. The discontent is amplified by the context: President Bola Tinubu, a southerner, is expected to seek re-election under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with backing from influential blocs within the party. This effectively sidelines northern aspirants in both major parties, raising concerns of regional exclusion.
Both the APC and PDP argue that their zoning decisions align with Nigeria’s informal power rotation agreement between the North and South, typically alternating every eight years.
However, northern groups have pushed back strongly. The Joint Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations (JACON) labeled the PDP’s zoning decision as “unjust, undemocratic, and a betrayal” of the North’s longstanding loyalty to the party. They warned that the move would cost the PDP further ground in the North come 2027.
In the North-Central region, political stakeholders expressed similar frustrations, accusing the PDP of perpetuating marginalisation of the region in Nigeria’s leadership structure since independence.
The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM), which supports the presidential ambition of Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim—a North-Central candidate—criticized the zoning move as unconstitutional and politically short-sighted.
Salihu Danlami, leader of the Arewa Youth Assembly, also condemned the PDP’s strategy. He argued that the party lost credibility in the North after it abandoned its power rotation principle in 2023 by fielding former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, breaching what he described as a “gentleman’s agreement.”
As the political terrain heats up, the PDP’s zoning decision may signal deeper fractures within the party and set the tone for a highly contentious 2027 presidential race.
