Wike Vindicated as PDP Zones Presidency to South, Chairman to North

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the G-5 governors have been described as vindicated following the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP to zone the 2027 presidential ticket to the South while retaining the party’s national chairmanship in the North.

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Reacting to the development, Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said the NEC’s resolution was a confirmation of the position taken by Wike and the G-5 during the buildup to the 2023 elections.“Now that the party has realised its mistake of not listening to Wike and the G-5 in 2022, and has chosen to do exactly what they advised three years after, have they not been vindicated?” Olayinka asked.

He recalled that in 2022, Wike and the G-5 maintained that the PDP presidential candidate and national chairman should not come from the same zone.

At the time, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerging as the party’s candidate from the North, they demanded the resignation of then-national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to allow a Southerner lead the party.

However, Ayu, with the backing of Atiku and his camp, refused to step down, a decision Olayinka said contributed to the PDP’s poor outing in the 2023 general elections and the internal instability that followed.

“But today, the NEC resolved that since the national chairman of the party is zoned to the North, the 2027 presidential ticket should go to the South. Has PDP not come back to eat its own vomit?” he asked.

According to him, Wike’s position had been simple: “Take the chairmanship to the South if you want to gain the presidency.”

“The PDP ignored the advice, insisted on taking both the chairmanship and presidential ticket to the North, and eventually lost the 2023 elections.

They have now admitted their mistake in 2025, but the question remains – is it not too late already, given that the South would need to complete eight years before the presidency returns to the North in 2031?” Olayinka added.