Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has cautioned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against repeating what he described as the political missteps of 2023 by zoning its 2027 presidential ticket to the north.
Speaking during a media chat on Monday, Wike stressed that the opposition party must make a decisive and transparent move by zoning its presidential ticket to the south, or risk deepening internal divisions and losing political credibility.
“Why not come out openly and say our presidential candidate will come from the south?” he questioned. “You want to play the same game you played in 2023? It will backfire.”
He criticized what he described as political “smartness” and warned that such strategies could further fracture the PDP.
“Selfishness can kill a system,” Wike said, adding that fairness and rotation of power are essential to sustaining unity within the party and across the country.
Wike also pointed out that if President Bola Tinubu wins re-election in 2027, the All Progressives Congress (APC) would likely return the presidency to the north in 2031.
“What will the PDP do then? Follow suit? That’s not strategy; that’s confusion,” he said.
The remarks, widely seen as a veiled reference to Atiku Abubakar, who has repeatedly contested for the presidency under the PDP, come at a time when the party is yet to resolve long-standing tensions over zoning.
In 2022, the PDP abandoned its internal zoning principle and threw the ticket open — a move that sparked rebellion among five influential governors, including Wike himself.
Atiku, who emerged as the party’s flagbearer in 2023, lost to Tinubu of the APC. Despite the defeat, the former vice-president has vowed to keep contesting as long as he remains in good health.
