A former member of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Yusuf, has warned the Peoples Democratic Party that failing to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region could spell disaster for the party.
Yusuf, a political ally of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, delivered this warning during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
“No single politician can win an election without collective goodwill,” he said. “Zone to the south and see what will happen, but if we continue this trajectory and continue to progress in error, we are postponing the doomsday.”
This follows a meeting on Monday where Wike and other G5 members advocated for the PDP to zone the 2027 presidency to the South.
Yusuf echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that such a move would foster unity and potentially bring influential figures like Labour Party’s Peter Obi back into the PDP.
“If today, the PDP ticket is zoned to the South, I have a conviction Peter Obi will be more comfortable coming to PDP, but if it’s not zoned and the dynamics and dialectics of primaries are allowed to play, he might not, just like he moved when it was not zoned and guaranteed a vice presidency. PDP should do the right thing first,” he stated.
Commenting on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Yusuf noted that Atiku is currently not in the PDP but is engaged in ongoing coalition discussions.
He blamed the party’s loss in the 2023 presidential election on flawed leadership decisions and a contentious northern zoning strategy.
Yusuf also highlighted internal divisions within the PDP, particularly stemming from Atiku’s candidacy, as a significant contributor to the party’s electoral defeat.
He expressed concern over recent defections, including that of former Delta State Governor and the PDP’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, to the All Progressives Congress. According to Yusuf, the party’s handling of the 2023 campaign exacerbated internal dissatisfaction among its members.
