Chief Bode George yesterday defended the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South saying it had ended “existential imbecility” in the party.
The ex-military chief brushed off criticism of the party’s zoning arrangement by some of its northern leaders, describing those opposing the decision as “selfish and manipulative”. The PDP made the zoning decision at its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking on Channels TV, George, former Deputy National Chairman of the opposition party, praised the NEC and the governors for asking the South to have the ticket. According to him, fairness and equity must guide the PDP to regain Nigerians’ trust.
George said: “We are back on the track of justice, fairness and equity. “You cannot have a chairman and president from the same zone. “That is against the very spirit of our party’s Constitution.” He added: “Unanimously, we agreed to zone the ticket to the South for the next four years to complete eight years in the region.
“But human beings manipulate because they want to grab power, and it’s nothing but self-centredness. “I must emphatically thank all our governors; they are respectable young men.” He added: “It’s refreshing to see us come together as one indivisible party. The more divided a house is, the more defeated it becomes.”
Asked how they intended to handle members, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and Oyo State Seyi Makinde, who worked against the party in the 2023 election, George said the party would not rush into punitive measures. He said: “As a political party, you will have all kinds of characters, and your ability to manage those characters will impact on the electorate. “We want them to see that we can be accommodating.
“You can disagree without being disagreeable. “We’ve given these characters some time, but if they cannot roll back and fall in line, then the sledgehammer will be brought down on them.” And in another development, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-South zone caretaker committee, Emmanuel Ogidi, vowed that the party won’t hesitate to discipline members found engaging in anti-party activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ogidi, who spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme ‘The Morning Brief ’ yesterday, dismissed claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) influenced the recent zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the South. Asked about Wike, and other PDP members, who have openly endorsed President Bola Tinubu, Ogidi said:
“We are watching our members, and of course, any party that does not have discipline cannot succeed. We will discipline any erring members.” The PDP chieftain accused the APC of attempting to destabilise the South but insisted their efforts had failed. “APC have been running towards the South because they want to destabilise the South; they are trying to weaken us in the South, but they failed,” he said.
