The group loyal to Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has rejected the Southern Leaders’ Zoning Consultative meeting conducted in Lagos on Wednesday, ahead of the PDP National Elective Convention in November in Ibadan, Oyo State.
This is as a reliable source within the PDP National Working Committee said the PDP Governors’ Forum will convene in Zamfara State on Saturday.
In order to guarantee a successful national convention in Ibadan, the governors are anticipated to gather in Gusau, the state capital, on Friday and begin discussions on urgent matters the following day, the source said.
Citing disagreements over the South-South and South-East zonal leadership, it was previously reported on Thursday that Wike’s camp is adamant about trying to stop the PDP’s November convention.
Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, along with other governors and their supporters, are dedicated to making sure the convention goes according to the party’s constitution.
As announced at its commencement on August 14, the zoning committee, headed by Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, proceeded its discussions in all areas despite these tensions. As a result, it met with Southern stakeholders in Lagos.
At the 102nd National Executive Committee meeting next Monday, the 44-member committee, led by Diri, is anticipated to suggest a zoning methodology for the 19 National Working Committee seats between the North and the South.
The NEC will decide at the meeting whether to accept, reject, or modify the committee’s recommendations.
However, a few state chairmen, former governors, members of the National Assembly, and other important stakeholders publicly disassociated themselves from the meeting and sided with Wike’s camp just hours before the Lagos Southern Zoning negotiations started.
Party chairmen from Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states, as well as leaders of the National Assembly and other interested parties, jointly signed a statement on Thursday in which the PDP leaders rejected “any resolutions, communiqués, or outcomes” allegedly coming out of the meeting, calling them “neither binding on, nor reflective of the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria.”
They insisted that the Lagos meeting, dubbed the “PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” was called without adequate consultation and denounced it.
The meeting, called the “PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” was “nicodemously” called in Lagos today, August 21, 2025, by some individuals claiming to speak for PDP members in the South. The meeting was called by the Admin Secretary, Zoning Committee of the PDP, at the request of the Chairman Zoning Committee (H.E. Senator Duoye Diri) at the Legend Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos. This meeting has caught the attention of the undersigned state chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party from the South as well as some important stakeholders.
The aforementioned summit was purportedly called in the names of Southern Nigeria’s three geopolitical zones: South-East, South-South, and South-West.
For the sake of clarity, we firmly reject any resolutions, statements, or conclusions that are allegedly the result of this gathering as not representing the will and goals of the PDP family in Southern Nigeria as a whole, nor are they binding on them. The statement partially stated, “Decisions made in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus.”
The meeting, which was purportedly called by the Administrative Secretary of the Zoning Committee at Chairman Diri’s request, was described in the statement as “deeply disturbing” due to the exclusion of a number of state chairmen, national officers, key politicians, and past governors.
“That such a meeting was called 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, is extremely regrettable and in fact extremely disturbing.”
The inexplicable omission of a number of national offices, notable leaders, and important PDP stakeholders is even more concerning. They claimed that such a flagrant disrespect for the PDP’s statutory organs and established structures not only goes against the spirit of group decision-making but also runs the risk of destroying the fundamental basis on which our party was founded.
The signatories, which included former National Secretary Onwe S. Onwe, Senators Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, and Mike Nnachi, as well as Minority Leader of the House of Representatives O. K. Chinda, cautioned that the Lagos parley was “premature and targeted at protecting the interest and selfish ambition of a select few.”
They also called the conference “illegal and divisive” and encouraged the PDP National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee to ignore any conclusions drawn from it.
“We urge the National Working Committee, the National Executive Committee, and all party stakeholders to ignore any decision made at the aforementioned meeting, since it is not only unlawful but also polarising.
“Please take note that if the outcome of the alleged meeting is given any weight, we will not hesitate to take the necessary actions in accordance with our party’s constitution to vigorously oppose it,” the statement said.
In his response to Wike’s camp following the Lagos meeting, Makinde stated that the purpose of the meeting was to reposition the PDP as a more powerful and dynamic party.
He emphasised that he would not “go low with anyone who decides to go into the gutters,” adding that the National Executive Committee would make a zoning decision on Monday.
“I personally don’t go with people when they go low or into the gutters,” he stated. Now, some people are entering the gutters. We’ll get in touch with them. Democracy is that.
“There shouldn’t be any personal animosity here, even though I can disagree with others. Nigerians are watching, so it should be about what we are providing them.
The governor pointed out that recent elections showed the PDP was still a powerful and prominent party in spite of the difficulties.
“They demonstrated last Saturday that the PDP is still alive in all of our states. The PDP came in second in the majority of the other states. It gives us hope that we can win back Nigerians’ trust if we keep up our good job,” Makinde added.
In response to enquiries about the PDP presidential ticket’s zoning to the South, Makinde said the party was still in the early stages of development.
“We haven’t even reached that point. Before you start discussing potential presidential candidates, we must first have a party. Anything you try to achieve will fail if we don’t have a party.
“A vibrant and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in again is what we are working towards right now,” he stated.
PDP Board of Trustees Chairman Adolphus Wabara, Bayelsa Governor Diri, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, Peter Mba of Enugu, represented by his deputy Ifeanyi Ossai, former Osun Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Bode George, and Monsurat Sunmonu were among the dignitaries present at the meeting.
Twelve of the 17 members of the PDP National Assembly and important party figures from the southern states were also involved.
The main goal of the party’s PDP Governors’ Forum meeting, which is set for this Saturday in Zamfara, according to a source in the PDP National Working Committee, is to make sure that the convention in Ibadan runs well.
The source went on to say that although the majority of the governors had committed to seeking political solutions to unresolved problems, they were also ready to exert pressure when needed.
The governors, the Board of Trustees, the National Working Committee, and other party officials understand the significance of the Ibadan Convention, he said. The convention is essential to the PDP’s future.
Thus, at different levels, every organ and structure of the party has been discussed. The governors will spend Friday and Saturday together in Zamfara. The meeting is anticipated to take place on Saturday, and arrival is scheduled on Friday.
Additionally, I am aware that all of our leaders—especially the governors—have decided to use political means as needed to make sure the Ibadan Convention on November 15 and 16 goes forward as planned. Additionally, they won’t hesitate to use the party’s organs and tools to exert force.
“Our leaders will cooperate with all of these; the Ibadan Convention will proceed as scheduled, and the PDP will recover to save Nigeria from the naive All Progressives Congress in 2027.”
Debo Ologunagba, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, did not return our correspondent’s calls or texts, thus our attempts to get a response from him were fruitless.
Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has urged citizens to “support those that the government will listen to,” saying he would back those that back President Bola Tinubu.
Wike said this while praising Christopher Maikalangu, the chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, and Philip Aduda, a former senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, at the flag-off of Lot 2 of the Water Supply Projects in Karu on Thursday.
In addition to praising both men for their ability to help the people, the minister promised to build a 2 kilometre road in Karu at the request of former Senator Aduda and said he would stand behind those who remained loyal to the Tinubu-led government.
“I’m here to talk about those who have access to the government and bring something to the people,” he added, praising Maikalangu, the chairman of AMAC. We can be reached by the chairman. We’ll do anything he tells us. The only man I know is this one. We will offer him anything he desires if he is elected Chairman of AMAC. I have no idea which party he is a member of. However, I am aware that he backs Tinubu. I will back anyone who backs Tinubu,” Wike declared.
The Minister emphasised that previous administrations had not met the demands of the populace, namely the water supply for the Karu communities, and that President Tinubu’s administration had kept its pledge to equip satellite towns with drinkable water.
