PDP corrects 2022 mistake but too late, Wike insists

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Monday said the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to zone the Presidency to the South and the National Chairman to the North proves that his position and that of the G-5 governors in 2022 was correct.

Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said in a statement that the PDP had now admitted its mistake.

“Back in 2022, Wike and the G-5 insisted that the party’s presidential candidate and national chairman should not come from the same region.

Since Atiku Abubakar from the North was chosen as the presidential candidate, they demanded that Iyorchia Ayu, also from the North, should step down as chairman.

But Ayu refused, with Atiku and his group supporting him. This eventually led to the party’s failure in the 2023 elections and the instability that followed,” Olayinka said.

He explained that the National Executive Committee (NEC) has now resolved that since the party chairman will remain in the North, the 2027 presidential ticket should go to the South.

“Has PDP not gone back to the very position it rejected?” he asked.

“Wike made it clear that for PDP to win, the chairmanship should go to the South while the presidency goes to the North.

They ignored him, and the party lost. Now, in 2025, they are correcting their mistake, but is it not too late? By principle, the South is expected to complete eight years before the presidency returns to the North in 2031.”