Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has reacted to the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to zone the party’s presidential ticket to the South.
Olayinka, in a statement on Monday, said the party’s decision not to zone the ticket to the South for the 2023 polls resulted in its electoral misfortune.
“Now that the party has realised its mistake of not listening to Wike and the G-5 in 2022, and has chosen to do what they said, three years later, have they not been vindicated now?
“Recall that the FCT Minister and the G-5 had insisted that the presidential candidate of the PDP and its national chairman must not remain in the same zone, insisting that since Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, from the North had emerged as the presidential candidate, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, also from the North must resign to pave the way for a National Chairman from the South.
“Ayu, however, insisted on not resigning, with Atiku and his group backing him. Aftermath of this was the electoral misfortune the party suffered in 2023, followed by instability after the elections,” Olayinka said.
The minister’s aide also said that the PDP had realised its mistake but wondered if the party’s decision was not already too late.
He stated, “Has PDP not come back to eat its own vomit? Sadly, they know the truth. Wike simply said, ‘Take the chairmanship to the South if you want to gain the presidency.’ But they said no, they must take the two, and the PDP lost!
“They have realised the mistake they made in 2022 and are correcting it in 2025. But is it not too late already, bearing in mind that 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?”
The PDP on Monday zoned the party’s presidential slot for the 2027 poll to the southern part of the country.
The party also insisted that the chairmanship position would remain in the North.
This decision was reached as party leaders held their National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
The NEC also affirmed Umar Damagum as its substantive national chairman.