Wike vindicated as PDP zoning 2027 presidential ticket to South aligns with G-5’s 2022 position, says minister’s aide Lere Olayinka
Wike vindicated PDP zoning after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) resolved to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while retaining the National Chairman in the North.
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Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, described the decision as a “clear vindication” of Wike and the G-5 governors’ stance in 2022.
“Now that the party has realised its mistake of not listening to Wike and the G-5 in 2022, and have chosen to do what they said three years after, have they not been vindicated now?” Olayinka said in a statement.
He recalled that Wike and the G-5 had insisted on zoning balance, arguing that the PDP presidential candidate and National Chairman could not both emerge from the North.
At the time, with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar from the North as presidential candidate, the group demanded the resignation of then-Chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
Their call was ignored, leading to what Olayinka described as electoral misfortune in the 2023 general elections and internal instability afterward.
“But today, the NEC resolved that since the National Chairman is zoned to the North, the PDP 2027 presidential ticket be zoned to the South. Has PDP not come back to eat its own vomit?” he queried.
He added that the party is only now correcting the mistake of 2022 but questioned whether it might be too late.
“The only way the zoning can be justified is for the South to conclude its eight years, while the presidency returns to the North in 2031,” Olayinka stated.
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The development is already generating debate in political circles, with analysts noting its implications for both party unity and the wider 2027 electoral contest.
