The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing fresh internal turmoil as key Southern leaders have disowned the ongoing zoning consultative summit in Lagos, warning that the move threatens unity ahead of the party’s national convention and the 2027 general elections.
The Lagos summit, convened by the PDP Zoning Committee under the leadership of Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri, was expected to deliberate on zoning arrangements for National Working Committee (NWC) positions and set the tone for power rotation in 2027.
However, a coalition of state chairmen, National Assembly members, and former national officers from the South has declared the meeting “illegal, exclusionary, and unrepresentative,” insisting its outcome will not bind the PDP family across Southern Nigeria.
“Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus,” they said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Signatories include the PDP state chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers; the National Vice Chairman (South-East), Hon. Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck; House Minority Leader, Hon. O. K. Chinda; Senators Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, Mike Ama Nnachi; former National Secretary, Rt. Hon. Onwe S. Onwe; and other key stakeholders.
The dissenting leaders allege that the Lagos summit deliberately sidelined elected party officials, former governors, and principal officers of the National Assembly from the South-East and South-South. They describe the meeting as “premature” and accuse its conveners of pushing a “selfish agenda” to hijack the zoning debate.
“It is deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting state chairmen, national officers, and critical stakeholders,” the statement read.
The group urged the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) to disregard any resolutions from the summit, describing them as divisive and a direct threat to party cohesion.
The crisis exposes widening cracks within the PDP as it struggles to rebuild after its 2023 defeat and position for 2027. Zoning, always a sensitive subject in the party, is now emerging as a flashpoint, with Southern leaders resisting moves they believe could undermine their influence in the next election cycle.
Political analysts warn that failure to resolve the dispute could derail PDP’s plan to present a united front against the ruling APC in 2027, especially as rival coalitions intensify talks to challenge President Bola Tinubu
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