The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, but not everyone is convinced it will work.
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike">Nyesom Wike, a PDP chieftain and now a powerful minister of FCT in the ruling party, believes the decision by the opposition has come too late in the day. At least, so said his official spokesman, Lere Olayinka.
“It is too late because we had the chance of doing the right thing three years ago that we did not do,” Olayinka said on Channels Television, Wednesday morning.
“Head is off already, we are crying. What we should have done three years ago, we did not do.”
G-5’s Warning Ignored, Now Reality Bites
Olayinka recalled how Wike and his G-5 allies had pushed for a Southern candidate in 2022.
They argued that fairness demanded it, since then-President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, was completing his second term.
But the PDP chose Atiku Abubakar, another northerner, and lost the election.
Now, with President Bola Tinubu already in office and eligible for a second term, Olayinka believes the PDP’s Southern ticket will be resisted.
“You’re now saying the president should come from the South, but the issue is that another party that is in power has its candidate too from the same South,” he said.
“Now you’re presenting your (Southern) candidate to the North, will that North agree with a candidate that will be starting afresh?”
Wike had hoped to pair with Atiku as a vice presidential candidate in 2023, but was rebuffed. Since then, Wike’s critics say he has been implacable and worked to undermine his party.
Jonathan and Obi in the Mix
To address concerns about tenure and Northern support, the PDP is reportedly considering two familiar faces—Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, booted out of office by a coalition of northern and South Western forces in 2015, and maverick Peter Obi, whom his supporters still believe was robbed of victory in 2023.
Jonathan, having served one term, is constitutionally allowed to run for another four years.
Obi, on the other hand, has publicly promised to serve only one term if elected.
According to Senator Abba Moro, talks are ongoing with both men about returning to the PDP.
“If Obi returns to the party, he might get the PDP’s presidential ticket,” Moro said.
The PDP’s National Executive Committee recently confirmed that the presidency will go South, while the national chairman remains in the North, hoping to satiate Wike and his co-travellers.
However, internal divisions remain. Some party leaders question why Jonathan and Obi—who left the party during critical moments—should now be considered.
Still, others argue their popularity and limited tenure make them ideal candidates to win Northern support and challenge the incumbent president.
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