The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has zoned its presidential slot to the southern part of the country, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The PDP also noted that the position of chairman would be retained by a northerner.
In the same vein, it has officially ratified Umar Damagum as its substantive national chairman.
The decision was reached on Monday during the party’s 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at its Abuja headquarters.
Damagum has been steering the party in an acting capacity since March 2023, following the suspension of former chairman, Iyorchia Ayu — a move later validated by the courts.
Prior to taking over the leadership, he served as the PDP’s deputy national chairman for the northern region.
The New Daily Prime earlier reported that the party has officially launched the zoning process that will determine the region to produce its 2027 presidential candidate.
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, who heads the PDP national zoning committee, confirmed the development after a meeting in Abuja on Monday.
He explained that the decision was first agreed upon during the PDP Governors’ Forum meeting held on Saturday in Gusau, Zamfara State, with input from the Board of Trustees (BoT), former governors, ministers, and other organs of the party.
“One of the decisions that was arrived at in that meeting is that we should not only zone the party offices, but as a national zoning committee, we should equally zone the presidency. So that arose from that meeting,” Diri said.
PDP convention scheduled for November
The PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) had earlier fixed November 15 and 16 for its national convention to elect new members of the National Working Committee (NWC). Ahead of the convention, a 44-member zoning committee was set up to distribute NWC offices across the geopolitical zones.
Last week, some PDP leaders from the South-East and South-South criticised the committee over a Lagos meeting they described as “secret,” alleging that several key stakeholders were sidelined. The aggrieved members, including state chairmen, vowed to reject any outcome “reached in secrecy.”
In response, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde assured that the party would engage with those who felt excluded.
