LAGOS, Nigeria – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and media entrepreneur Dele Momodu has said that only a candidate from Northern Nigeria stands a realistic chance of unseating President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
Speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Momodu dismissed claims of a north-south rift within the PDP and argued that the party has historically maintained a fair regional balance in its leadership decisions.
He also asserted that any presidential ambition from the southern bloc in the next cycle would likely be a strategic misstep.
“I have a theory that Tinubu can only be countered this time by a northerner. Any southerner telling you they want to contest against Tinubu is only wasting their time,” he said.
Momodu, publisher of Ovation International, cited the PDP’s historical precedent in zoning and succession, noting the party’s past record with Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan.
He added: “People say it should be eight years north, then eight years south — under which constitution? We must not run away from the truth: the PDP has been fair to the south.”
He criticised internal party decisions that, according to him, weakened the party’s strategic positioning, including the failure to cede the 2023 presidential ticket to the southeast.
Momodu specifically called out former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for “frustrating Peter Obi” out of the party.
“Atiku had told them that if they ceded power to the south-east, then it would make sense to him. But Wike said he’s not an Igbo man. That cleared the way for him to dominate,” he said.
Momodu also rejected assertions by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, who had dismissed opposition efforts to form a political coalition as “dead on arrival.”
He argued that history shows coalitions can succeed when driven by necessity.
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” Momodu said.
“I can guarantee the PDP or any opposition coalition will come from the opposite direction — and that direction is the North.”
He specifically questioned the viability of southern candidates, including Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, reportedly interested in running for president.
“He’s a guy I like, but I know that, at the end of the day, it cannot happen,” he stated.
Momodu warned that the Tinubu administration’s apparent tilt toward rewarding political cronies, particularly from the southwest, risks alienating key northern constituencies.
“Most of the appointments are for Tinubu’s cronies. Cronyism has crept into our politics, and the North is naturally aggrieved,” he said.
He cautioned against framing the 2027 race as a “Yoruba agenda,” calling such rhetoric dangerous and potentially reminiscent of the regional fault lines that followed the June 12, 1993, election.
“If we continue to run this thing like a regional mandate, then we risk repeating the June 12 error. Nigeria cannot afford that again,” he said.
