Olayiwola Matthew
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the north.
Speaking during a media chat on Monday, Wike said he has cautioned the party against making the mistake of 2023.
The PDP chieftain said the opposition party must zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the south.
“Why not, as a party, come out openly and say our presidential candidate will come out from the south? he asked.
“You don’t want to do that. You want to play the same game you played in 2023. It will backfire.
“This smartness won’t help you. Come out now and let everybody know where you are heading. You can’t send the presidency to the north. I told them. Selfishness can kill a system.
“For example, if Mr president runs and wins in 2027, by 2031 APC will send their presidential ticket to the north.
“PDP will do what then? You will come back then and say since APC is sending it to the north, let’s give the north out presidential ticket. What kind of smartness is that?”
If the PDP zones its presidential ticket to the south, politicians such as former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar will be ineligible to run for president on the party’s platform.
In May 2024, Abubakar said he would “keep contesting” for the Nigerian presidency as long as he is hale and hearty.
PDP ZONING CRISIS
The internal wrangling in the PDP stems from the zoning disputes that predated the 2023 presidential election.
In the build-up to the PDP primary in 2022, some party stakeholders demanded that the presidential ticket be zoned to the south.
However, the party ditched zoning, throwing the contest for the presidential ticket open.
The decision polarised the party, with five governors at the time, including Wike, refusing to back Abubakar, who was the party’s standard-bearer in 2023.