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Youth leaders back party leadership, Wike warns of crisis if South-South concerns are ignored
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will today (Monday) hold its 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, where the much-anticipated zoning report will be tabled for ratification. The meeting comes amid rising tension over the party’s November national convention scheduled to take place in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The zoning committee, chaired by Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, with Zamfara Governor, Dauda Lawal, as vice chairman and Plateau Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, as secretary, was inaugurated in July to share the 19 National Working Committee (NWC) positions between the North and South.
Reliable sources within the party confirmed that the committee recommended retaining the existing zoning arrangement, which allows the North and South to continue holding their current offices. If adopted, the NEC will simply ratify the formula and pave the way for further micro-zoning by the two regions.
At a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos last Thursday, PDP leaders from the South distributed key positions among the geopolitical zones. The South-South secured the slots of Deputy National Chairman and National Publicity Secretary, while the South-West got the National Secretary and National Auditor positions. The South-East, in turn, was allocated the Deputy National Secretary and Financial Secretary.
Influence from Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, ensured that the National Secretary was specifically micro-zoned to Oyo, while Akwa Ibom picked up the Publicity Secretary role. The North, however, is expected to finalise its own internal zoning arrangements after today’s NEC session.
The tenure of the acting NWC, led by Ambassador Umar Damagum, is due to end in December. To avoid further leadership uncertainty, the party’s 101st NEC had earlier fixed November 15–16 for its National Elective Convention in Ibadan. The convention committee is chaired by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, with Osun Governor, Ademola Adeleke, as vice chairman and Enugu Governor, Peter Mbah, as secretary.
Despite the committee’s recommendations, cracks remain within the party. Former Rivers State Governor and current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has warned that sidelining the outcome of the South-South Congress held in Calabar could spark fresh turmoil.
“Before you talk about the convention, resolve the matter. If the matter is not resolved, there will be a crisis,” Wike cautioned in a television interview on August 4. His loyalists, including House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, have also rejected the Lagos micro-zoning outcome, insisting the exercise was unfair.
In contrast, PDP youth leaders from the 36 states and the FCT declared total support for the party’s leadership and convention timetable. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Sunday, the Forum of PDP Youth Leaders, led by Gombe State Youth Leader, Jamilu Kalshingi, pledged unwavering loyalty to the party’s organs.
“We are solidly with the leaders of our party as it concerns the coming convention and zoning of party offices. We support the zoning committee, we support the convention dates, and we assure Nigerians that nothing will stop it from holding,” Kalshingi said.
The forum dismissed Wike’s objections, noting that the NEC and NWC had already taken binding decisions. “The FCT Minister is just a member of the party, like any other member. The NEC and NWC have taken a decision, and nothing will change that,” Kalshingi declared.
In a communiqué jointly signed by Kalshingi and Secretary Boniface Brown, the youth leaders urged aggrieved members to remain loyal, stressing that the PDP remained a strong opposition with the capacity to “rescue Nigeria from hardship under the APC.”
They further commended the Damagum-led NWC, the Board of Trustees headed by Senator Adolphus Wabara, and the PDP Governors’ Forum under Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed, saying their efforts had “strengthened unity and laid a solid foundation for the party’s future.”
As NEC convenes today, party leaders hope that adopting the zoning report will ease tensions and stabilise the PDP ahead of its November convention. However, with dissenting voices like Wike still raising concerns, questions linger over whether unity can truly hold as the party prepares for a crucial transition.
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