A fresh wave of crisis has engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as key stakeholders from the South-South and South-East zones have openly dismissed a meeting convened in Lagos on Thursday, describing it as “illegal, exclusionary, and unrepresentative.” The meeting, tagged the “PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit” and held at the Legend Hotel, Ikeja, was convened by the Administrative Secretary of the party’s zoning committee, reportedly at the instruction of the committee’s chairman, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State.
In a joint statement signed by the state chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States, alongside several senior national officers—including the National Vice Chairman (South-East), Hon. Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck; the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Chinda; as well as senators, former governors, and former national officers—the Southern stakeholders condemned the Lagos meeting, stressing that it was deliberately arranged without the inclusion of critical leaders and structures of the party. They argued that any resolutions emanating from the gathering are not binding, nor do they reflect the collective will of the PDP across Southern Nigeria.
The statement further lamented what it described as a “brazen disregard for established structures and statutory organs of the PDP,” warning that such exclusionary tactics undermine the values of inclusivity, consultation, and collective responsibility on which the party was built. Leaders expressed concern that many serving state chairmen, ranking National Assembly members, and influential former governors from the South-East and South-South were intentionally sidelined. They insisted that secrecy-driven decisions cannot assume the authority of consensus and accused the conveners of working to advance narrow political ambitions at the expense of unity.
The development, analysts note, points to deeper power tussles within the party. Reports indicate that the rift is linked to emerging alignments between the camp of former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, and those opposed to Governor Diri’s role in driving the zoning process. BusinessDay noted that the division also reflects discontent over the planned PDP national convention scheduled to take place in Ibadan later in the year, with some leaders feeling their influence is being deliberately curtailed.
The zoning question is at the heart of PDP’s preparations for the 2027 general elections. Last week in Abuja, the party inaugurated a 44-member zoning committee, chaired by Governor Diri, with a mandate to recommend the distribution of national offices and decide the region that will produce the party’s next presidential candidate. The committee is expected to submit its report to the National Executive Committee (NEC) on or before 25 August. However, the rejection of Thursday’s Lagos meeting by a wide spectrum of Southern leaders now threatens to weaken the legitimacy of any recommendation eventually presented.
The Southern stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to the unity, stability, and electoral fortunes of the PDP, while calling on the National Working Committee (NWC) and the NEC to disregard any outcome of the Lagos parley. They warned that if any regard is given to the resolutions of the meeting, they will resist such actions with “full force” in line with the party’s constitution. With the zoning formula unresolved and trust increasingly fragile, the PDP now faces one of its most significant internal tests ahead of the 2027 elections, as unresolved tensions over power rotation and inclusivity threaten to destabilize its prospects.
