PDP Crisis Deepens As Southern Leaders Disown Lagos Zoning Summit
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened on Thursday as some Southern leaders, including state chairmen, National Assembly members, and former National Working Committee (NWC) officials, rejected the ongoing zoning summit in Lagos.
The Lagos meeting was expected to produce the input of Southern stakeholders on zoning arrangements for the party’s National Working Committee ahead of the November 15–16 convention and the 2027 general elections.
But the Southern PDP leaders, in a joint statement, dismissed the exercise, declaring that “any resolutions, communiqués, or outcomes purportedly emanating from the meeting is neither binding on, or reflective of, the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria. Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus.”
The statement was endorsed by Imo PDP chairman Austin Nwachukwu, Abia chairman Abraham Amah, Cross River chairman Barr. Venatius Ikem, Akwa Ibom chairman, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Akpan, and Rivers chairman Aaron Chukwuemeka. Others included the National Vice Chairman (South-East), Hon. Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. O. K. Chinda.
Senators Igwe Nwagu, Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, and Mike Ama Nnachi, along with former National Secretary Rt. Hon. Onwe S. Onwe, Deputy National Legal Adviser Barr. Okechukwu Osuoha, and ex-Ebonyi Legal Adviser Barr. Mudi Erhenede, were also signatories.
In the statement titled “Re: Purported Meeting of PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” the leaders accused the organisers of excluding key stakeholders.
“It is highly regrettable and indeed deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting several state chairmen from the South East and South South, as well as the duly elected National Secretary and Deputy National Legal Adviser of our great party.
“Even more troubling is the inexplicable exclusion of several national officers, eminent leaders, and critical stakeholders of the PDP. Shockingly, the Minority Leader in the National Assembly and other principal officers of our party from the South-South and South-East were also deliberately sidelined and denied participation in a meeting where such far-reaching and sensitive decisions on zoning, power rotation, and political equity are to be discussed,” the statement read.
The group also faulted the deliberate omission of former governors from the South-East and South-South, stressing that their historical role and institutional memory made them critical stakeholders.
“This brazen disregard for established structures and statutory organs of the PDP not only offends the spirit of collective decision-making but also risks undermining the very foundation upon which our party was built,” they warned.
They maintained that any resolutions from the Lagos meeting were illegal, divisive, and targeted at advancing the selfish ambitions of a few individuals, insisting that the official Zoning Committee set up by the National Executive Committee (NEC) had yet to submit its report.
The leaders called on the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), NEC, and members across the country to disregard the Lagos summit.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
