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By Myke Agunwa
A group of influential stakeholders within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), known as ‘Concerned PDP Stakeholders,’ has called on the party’s national leadership to unequivocally zone the presidency to the southern region in 2027.
The leading opposition party has been submerged in series of crisis primarily driven by fierce power struggle between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
The dispute centres on the control of party’s structure, with both leaders vying to assert their dominance ahead of the 2027 general election, where Atiku is tweaking the system to once more emerge as the Presidential Candidate of the party while it is believed that Wike has a mandate to ensure that the PDP remains weak and decimated so that it will not pose any serious challenge to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
This internal rift has intensified calls for the removal of the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who is widely suspected of aligning with Wike in holding down the party.
Wike’s perceived influence within the party’s hierarchy has further fuelled concerns among Atiku’s loyalists, who believe that Anyanwu’s continued leadership could compromise the PDP’s unity and electoral prospects.
As the battle for control deepens, the stakeholders urged the PDP leadership to ensure fairness, maintain party cohesion, and restore balance, including a push to zone the presidency to the South as part of efforts to resolve the crisis and restore harmony within the party.
The group argued that the pronouncement would ensure inclusivity, foster unity, and uphold the PDP’s principles of fairness and equity. The stakeholders explained this move would also boost the party’s chances in the upcoming elections by balancing power across the country’s geo-political zones.
The demand, read by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, was contained in a communique presented at the end of its meeting held in Abuja on Monday.
The Stakeholders said they had reached the conclusion that the party’s crisis were due to the “inexplicable refusal of a few to adhere to the party Constitution, with particular reference to Section 36(1)(a)(b) and (c), Sections 47(3)(5) and 48(1)(i) and the definitive Supreme Court Judgment regarding the position of the office of the National Secretary of the Party.”
“The Eminent Stakeholders and Concerned Leaders are alarmed that the party is in an inevitable path to self-annihilation if urgent steps are not taken to rein in the desperate, divisive and selfish tendencies that brought the party to its knees in the lead up to the 2023 election,” they added.
They emphasized that the party must zone the 2027 Presidency to the South while affirming Senator Sam Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the party, in line with the Supreme Court judgment, adding that going forward, only the Secretary could issue notices of meeting, in line with the party’s constitution.
“The PDP eminent leaders and concerned stakeholders resolve as follows: In the spirit of fairness, inclusion, federal character principles and respect for our party Constitution, the party must make an unequivocal announcement, zoning its Presidential Candidate to the South in the 2027 general election.
“That to finally arrest the inexorable drift towards extinction in our party, the party must, without further delay, respect the judgment of the Supreme Court. We, therefore, unequivocally reaffirm Senator Sam Anyanwu as the duly elected and substantive National Secretary of our great party.
“In line with the provisions of our party constitution, only the National Secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu, can issue notices of meetings of the National Convention, National Executive Committee, National Caucus and the National Working Committee and to this end, all notices not issued by him and actions founded on them, including correspondences to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are null and void and of no effect whatsoever,” the communique read.
The group also noted that only a “properly and duly constituted” National Convention could remove Anyanwu as Secretary, in light of his status as a member of the National Executive Council.
They therefore demanded that the Acting National Chairman and the National Secretary of the party, jointly issue a notice to INEC, “with an attached agenda for the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Party being the only pathway to abide by extant laws.”
The stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to the party and urged all members to “uphold the rule of law, respect constitutional mandate, resist all machinations aimed at destabilizing the party and support the efforts of the National Reconciliation Committee headed by His Excellency, Senator Bukola Saraki.”
Meanwhile, PDP stakeholders from the South-East, under the leadership of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, nominated Hon. Sunday Ude‑Okoye to replace Sen. Anyanwu as party’s scribe arguing that according to party’s guidelines, he ought to have resigned, having emerged as the governorship candidate of the party for Imo State in 2023.
At a zonal meeting held in Enugu, the South-East Zonal Executive Committee (ZEC), alongside key party figures including national and state lawmakers, former governors, and Board of Trustees members, unanimously nominated Ude‑Okoye to complete the remaining tenure of Anyanwu and threatened to reconsider its relationship with the party if their request was not granted immediately.
Furthermore, Wike had earlier announced that he has pulled away from all reconciliation meetings organized to address the party’s internal discord and vowed to continue fighting until he “gets justice”.
He also accused Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde of betrayal, claiming that Makinde abandoned all the agreements reached at the PDP governors’ forums held in Lagos and Jos. This accusation has further strained efforts to mend the party’s widening rifts, with Wike’s camp insisting that the integrity of the agreements must be upheld to ensure genuine reconciliation.
The standoff underscores the escalating tension and deep divides within the PDP leadership as they prepare for the next NEC meeting slated to hold on 30th of June and National Convention that will be held between 28th to 30th August, 2025 in Kano, Kano State.