The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has slumped into a fresh crisis of confidence over the zoning of the party’s national leadership ahead of its planned National Convention in November this year.
This round of crisis emerged as some southern party leaders in Abuja kicked against a meeting of another set of southern leaders in Lagos, who were meeting to deliberate on how the party would zone the offices for its prospective new national leadership ahead of the much-anticipated convention, which will be held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
At the Lagos meeting of southern PDP leaders, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa who also serves as chairman of the zoning committee; Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Sen Adolphus Wabara, chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT); Chief Olabode George, a Board of Trustees (BoT) member, and Chief Eddy Olafeso, national vice chairman of PDP (South West), were present.
Other attendees included former Ebonyi State Governor Sam Egwu and former PDP national secretary Chief Ben Obi.
The meeting was tagged PDP Southern Zonal Consultative Summit, a precursor to the larger National Convention zoning committee led by Governor Diri.
However, some southern leaders in Abuja opposed the Lagos meeting. These leaders, regarded as those in the camp of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, have kicked against the meeting, saying it was illegal.
In a communique, the group said it was regrettable that such a meeting was held without inviting some regional state chairmen.
The signatories include the PDP state chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states, the national vice chairman (South-East), and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Chinda.
The statement, also supported by Senators Igwe Nwagu, Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, and others, called attention to what they deemed a significant organisational oversight.
The unfolding spat comes ahead of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Monday, August 25.
At the NEC, the Gov Diri-led zoning committee is expected to submit its recommendations on how the party’s offices should be zoned across the country.
The zoning of the party’s offices usually indicates which region the party’s presidential candidate will emerge from – even though that tradition was altered in the 2023 election cycle when the ticket was thrown open to all contestants.
So far, some party leaders, like Prof Jerry Gana, have called on the party to give its presidential ticket to the South, a call that has also been made by Wike, who, however, has been vocal in his support for the re-election of the incumbent President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It was learnt that the clamour for zoning the presidential ticket to the south is part of a lobby strategy to woo former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi back to the PDP.
However, other party leaders, like former presidential candidate Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, have urged the party to abandon the idea of zoning, adding that it is not constitutional and inhibits the party’s ability to produce the best candidate.
Since the 2023 election, the PDP has been locked in a series of crises involving the national chairmanship, political structure in Rivers State, state congresses, and the national secretary position.
The crisis led to several defections, including the exit of two state governors, those of Akwa Ibom and Delta, and several federal and state lawmakers.
The recent defectors are those who had aligned with the coalition movement led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who moved to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
A meeting by the party’s founding fathers and a subsequent NEC meeting in late July seemed to have settled the strife within the party, as party leaders agreed to hold a national convention in November to elect a new set of party leaders.
The current crisis indicates a larger simmering tussle between former allies Governor Makinde and Minister Wike, over control of the party. Both were in the Group of Five Governors (G5) which opposed Atiku in 2023 after he beat Wike and others in the primary.
Makinde is rumoured to nurse a presidential ambition in 2027, which conflicts with Wike’s support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Wike is one of the most prominent ministers in Tinubu’s cabinet.
Wike-led camp kicks
A coalition of PDP heavyweights from Southern Nigeria, believed to be loyal to Wike, have disowned and condemned a zoning consultation meeting in Lagos, declaring any decisions from it “null and void.”
The group, composed of many state chairmen, former governors, National Assembly members, and senior party officials, accused the summit’s conveners of operating in “secrecy and exclusion” to serve “the selfish ambition of a select few.”
A strongly worded statement signed by many prominent party leaders dismissed it as an illegitimate and divisive manoeuvre.
They include the PDP state chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states, the national vice chairman (South-East), and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kinsley Chinda, among others.
The press statement with the title, “Re: Purported Meeting Of PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” criticised the convening of the summit without the participation of various state chairmen, the elected national secretary, and key national officers.
It also called attention to the exclusion of numerous former governors who had historically played vital roles in decisions concerning the direction of the PDP.
“It is deplorable and indeed alarming that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting several state chairmen from the South East and South, as well as the duly elected national secretary and deputy national legal adviser of our great party,” they wrote.
The PDP leaders highlighted their concerns over decisions made in an environment lacking transparency, saying it could have implications for the party’s future.
The statement underlined the party’s foundational principles of inclusivity, equity, and collective responsibility, arguing that current exclusionary tactics jeopardise party unity and integrity.
“Such a brazen disregard for established structures and statutory organs of the PDP not only offends the spirit of collective decision-making but also risks undermining the foundation upon which our party was built,” they stated.
The PDP leaders emphasised their commitment “to the pursuit of fairness, justice, and equity, the ideals that have sustained our party’s relevance and credibility over the years.”
The chairmen implored members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) to disregard any outcomes from the meeting, categorising it as “illegal” and divisive.
They warned that if the meeting’s results were considered, they would “not hesitate to take appropriate steps in line with our party constitution to resist them with full force.”
With this decisive stance, the PDP leaders clarified that collaboration and inclusivity must prevail in their party’s decision-making processes.
‘The meeting was legal, and Southern leaders, PDP professionals were in attendance’
Meanwhile, the Conference of Professionals in the Peoples Democratic Party (CP-PDP) has insisted that the meeting was legal and that southern leaders were in attendance.
In a statement signed by the protem national coordinator of CP-PDP, Obinna Nwachukwu, the professionals said the stakeholders’ summit, duly organised by the party’s zoning committee in Lagos, was legitimately held contrary to misleading claims by some misguided elements in the party.
“The leaders of the party in the South not only embraced the summit but are also massively in attendance for consultation with the Zoning Committee set up by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on the zoning of national offices ahead of the National Convention scheduled to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State capital on the 15th and 16th November, 2025.
“The CP-PDP verifies that the Zoning Committee led by Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State duly invited and had in attendance at the meeting relevant stakeholders from the South including the four PDP state governors, Board of Trustees (BoT) members, the three national vice chairmen from the South, serving senators, serving members of the House of Representatives, state chairmen, former governors and all members of the zoning committee from the South for consultation in line with the mandate assigned to the Committee by the party’s NEC.
“Any resolution or recommendation reached at the summit would therefore be valid, authentic and recognised by the party. It is thus imprudent and highly irresponsible for some individuals to attempt to discredit the valid and lawful activity of a body duly constituted by the NEC in trying to mislead the public and members of our great party by claiming that the PDP leaders of the South are averse to the summit and that the summit was shrouded in secrecy,” the group said.
The PDP group further stated that those opposed to the summit were being misguided individuals being teleguided and sponsored by a prominent Minister in the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration who has not hidden his national convention intention to scuttle the scheduled of the PDP.
It went on: “The thoughtless action of these puppet politicians is in gross violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017), which attracts a severe penalty specifically under Section 58 (1) (h) (j) of the PDP Constitution.
“In light of the provisions of the PDP Constitution, the Conference urges the National Working Committee (NWC) to immediately sanction all the individuals in the amorphous group which sought to discredit the activities of the Zoning Committee.”
The CP-PDP further urged party members and the general public to disregard the claims as the party is solidly behind the Douye Diri-led Zoning Committee as it continues to consult party stakeholders during its assignment.
