The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened on Thursday as key stakeholders from the South dismissed a meeting on the party’s zoning arrangement slated for Lagos as “illegal and unrepresentative.”
The leaders, including state chairmen, former governors, National Assembly members, and serving and former members of the National Working Committee (NWC), insisted that any resolutions or communiqués from the Lagos meeting would not reflect the collective will of the PDP in Southern Nigeria.
Their position was contained in a statement signed by the PDP state chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers — Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, Venatius Ikem, Aniekan Akpan, and Aaron Chukwuemeka — alongside the National Vice Chairman (South-East), Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck, and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, O. K. Chinda. Other signatories included Senators Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, Mike Ama Nnachi, and former PDP National Secretary, Onwe S. Onwe.
The statement, titled “Re: Purported Meeting of PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” accused the conveners of excluding several state chairmen, national officers, and former governors, thereby undermining inclusivity and trust in the party’s decision-making process.
“It is deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without inviting duly elected officers, ranking lawmakers, and eminent leaders of our party from the South. Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus,” the leaders declared.
They further argued that the so-called “Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” convened at the instance of the Chairman of the PDP Zoning Committee, Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa, was premature since the zoning panel had yet to submit its report to the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Warning that the exercise was designed to serve “selfish ambitions of a select few,” the Southern PDP stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to fairness, equity, and unity in the party.
“We categorically dismiss any outcomes of the Lagos meeting as illegal, divisive, and of no binding effect. Where any regard is given to the resolutions, we shall not hesitate to resist them with full force, in line with our party’s constitution,” the statement read.
The PDP has been battling internal disagreements over power rotation and zoning ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Southern leaders pushing for inclusivity and equity in the party’s decisions.
