Loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, have distanced themselves from a meeting convened in Lagos on Thursday by the zoning committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chaired by Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, to discuss zoning arrangements ahead of the party’s national convention.
In a joint statement, PDP state chairmen from Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers—Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, Barr. Venatuis Ikem, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Akpan and Aaron Chukwuemeka—alongside other stakeholders, including National Vice Chairman (South-East), Hon. Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck, and House of Representatives Minority Leader, Hon. O.K. Chinda, make known their intention to back out of the meeting.
They described the Lagos meeting as illegal, exclusionary, and unrepresentative of the southern bloc of the PDP.
“The attention of the undersigned State Chairmen of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from the South and some critical stakeholders has been drawn to a meeting nichodimously summoned in Lagos today… tagged PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” the statement read.
The leaders condemned the exclusion of several state chairmen, national officers, and former governors from the South-East and South-South, insisting that “decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus.”
They argued that the move was premature, self-serving, and an attempt to pre-empt the report of the Diri-led zoning committee.
It can be recalled that the committee was inaugurated last week by Acting PDP National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and tasked with recommending how party offices, and potentially the 2027 presidential ticket, should be allocated.
The statement warned that any resolutions from the Lagos meeting “are neither binding on nor reflective of the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria.”
The PDP had fixed its national elective convention for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State. However, Wike expressed displeasure with aspects of the party’s internal arrangements, warning of renewed crises if issues surrounding zonal congresses in the South-East and South-South remain unresolved.
The leaders most of whom are known allies of Wike reaffirmed their loyalty to the PDP but vowed to resist what they called “clandestine maneuvers” aimed at manipulating the zoning process.
