The agitation against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s zoning arrangement gained fresh momentum during the week as stakeholders in Osun and Lagos States staged rallies, declaring the zoning formula “null and void.”
They adopted Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, as their preferred aspirant.
In Osogbo, the rally converged at the City Hall and was led by the South West coordinator of the Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM), Abass Olaniyi.
The participants argued that zoning has outlived its usefulness and should no longer dictate political choices in Nigeria.
“The era of division is over in Nigeria. What the country needs now is competence, capacity, and a unifier like Gbenga Hashim,” Olaniyi declared.
In Lagos, another rally attracted PDP local government and senatorial district officials, alongside former state Party Executives.
The event was coordinated by the Lagos state GHSM coordinator, Hon. Ola Azeez and reinforced the rejection of zoning as a barrier to credible leadership.
Speaking at the Lagos rally, Azeez insisted that the so-called zoning error would not deter the movement.
“The era of division is over in Nigeria. This is a new era of competence and capability, and Gbenga Hashim stands tall as the symbol of that new vision,” he said.
In the past week, separate press statements from PDP stakeholders in Oyo and Ondo also rejected zoning, with analysts warning that the mounting resistance is already triggering a major internal realignment in the party ahead of the next general elections.
This resistance is not limited to the South West. Similar pushback has emerged from the northern part of the country, particularly in the North Central and North West.
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the PDP chapter officially adopted Hashim as leader and candidate of the party and in Plateau state, stakeholders marched to the PDP secretariat to reject the headquarters’ decision on zoning.
In the North West, especially in Kano state, PDP stakeholders have also voiced firm opposition to the zoning arrangement, insisting that the party cannot afford to sideline competence and broad-based acceptability.
