ABUJA, Nigeria — A faction within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has called for the zoning of the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region of Nigeria, reigniting long-standing internal debates over rotation and leadership representation.
At a meeting held on Monday, June 9, 2025, in Abuja, the group — comprising Wike and three former governors, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Samuel Ortom (Benue) — issued a communiqué urging the PDP to respect the principle of zoning as enshrined in its constitution.
“In the spirit of fairness and respect for our party constitution, the party must make an unequivocal announcement zoning its presidential candidate to the south in the 2027 election,” the communiqué, read by Wike, stated.
The group also reiterated support for Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the substantive national secretary of the party, despite ongoing legal and procedural disputes over the position.
“We therefore unequivocally affirm Senator Anyanwu as the truly elected substantive national secretary of our great party,” the communiqué added.
The declaration comes amidst a protracted leadership tussle between Anyanwu and Sunday Udeh-Okoye, both of whom claim to hold the position of national secretary.
In December 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled that Udeh-Okoye should replace Anyanwu, following his emergence as the PDP governorship candidate in the 2023 Imo election.
However, Anyanwu has challenged the judgment and insists he remains in office, having filed an appeal and a stay of execution at the Supreme Court.
In March 2025, the Supreme Court declined jurisdiction on the matter, ruling it an internal party affair.
Subsequently, PDP governors recommended Deputy National Secretary Setonji Koshoedo to serve in acting capacity until a final decision is reached by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Despite this, the Wike-led bloc declared that only Anyanwu has the authority to issue meeting notices for the NEC, national caucuses, and convention activities.
“All the notices not issued by him, including correspondences to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), are null and void,” the communiqué read.
Wike, a former PDP governor and presidential aspirant, remains a serving minister in President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration.
Though still formally a PDP member, he has increasingly been seen as working to influence the party’s internal decisions to favour Tinubu’s re-election ambitions in 2027.
Sources within the party revealed that Monday’s meeting was partly aimed at halting the PDP’s planned national convention scheduled for Thursday, August 28, 2025, where key members of the National Working Committee (NWC) are expected to be elected.
The PDP’s NEC had previously resolved to deliberate on the issue of the national secretary at its next scheduled meeting on Monday, June 30, 2025.
In May, members of the PDP’s southeast zonal executive warned they might exit the party if Udeh-Okoye was not formally recognised as secretary.
The party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) and most PDP governors currently back Udeh-Okoye, although Monday’s communiqué suggests a significant internal challenge to that consensus.
The developments have further complicated the party’s efforts to unify its ranks ahead of the 2027 general election, as it seeks to rebuild from its 2023 loss at the presidential level.
While the party’s constitution provides for rotational zoning between the north and south, implementation has frequently been subject to political negotiation and internal wrangling.
