Fresh PDP Crisis Brews Over Zoning as South-South Stakeholders Reject Diri-Led Lagos Meeting

A fresh wave of internal crisis is threatening to destabilize the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as key southern stakeholders have strongly rejected a meeting on the party’s 2027 zoning formula, which they describe as illegal and exclusionary.

The meeting, allegedly convened in Lagos on August 21, 2025, by the PDP Zoning Committee Chairman, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, was dismissed outright by a broad coalition of party leaders from the South-South and South-East. The dissenting voices include state party chairmen, serving and former National Working Committee (NWC) members, National Assembly members, and other senior party figures.

In a joint statement titled “Re: Purported Meeting of PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit”, the leaders decried the Lagos gathering as unauthorized, exclusionary, and lacking in legitimacy. They emphasized that it does “not reflect the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria.”

The statement was signed by PDP state chairmen from Imo (Austin Nwachukwu), Abia (Abraham Amah), Cross River (Barr. Venatius Ikem), Akwa Ibom (Rt. Hon. Aniekan Akpan), and Rivers (Aaron Chukwuemeka), along with other key figures such as Hon. Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck (National Vice Chairman, South-East) and Hon. O. K. Chinda (Minority Leader, House of Representatives).

Others included Senators Igwe Nwagu, Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, Mike Ama Nnachi, Rt. Hon. Onwe S. Onwe (former National Secretary), Barr. Okechukwu Osuoha (Deputy National Legal Adviser), and Barr. Mudi Erhenede (former Ebonyi State Legal Adviser), among others.

The statement raised serious concerns about the opaque manner in which the Lagos meeting was organized, stating:

“It is highly regrettable and indeed deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting several State Chairmen from the South East and South South, as well as the duly elected National Secretary and Deputy National Legal Adviser of our great party.”

They also criticized the “deliberate sidelining” of key southern stakeholders including National Assembly leaders, former governors, and other influential figures. According to them, these exclusions undermine the PDP’s core values of inclusivity, consultation, and collective responsibility.

The signatories questioned the legitimacy of any outcomes from the summit, warning that:

“Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus.”

They further accused the organizers of acting to protect the narrow ambitions of a select few, even as the Zoning Committee set up by the National Executive Committee (NEC) has yet to finalize or present its report for ratification.

Reaffirming their loyalty to the PDP’s core ideals, the southern leaders stated:

“We remain resolute in defending the integrity of the PDP and ensuring that any decisions affecting Southern Nigeria within the PDP are reached through proper consultations, transparency and inclusiveness, in line with the established democratic ethos of our party.”

In a final warning to the party leadership, they declared:

“Take notice that where any iota of regard is given to the outcome of the purported meeting, we shall not hesitate to take appropriate steps in line with our party constitution to resist same with full force.”

This latest development signals deepening divisions within the PDP over the sensitive issue of zoning and power rotation ahead of the 2027 elections—an issue that, if not carefully handled, could further fracture the opposition party.