The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has directed its National Convention Zoning Committee (NCZC) to expand its mandate to include zoning of the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
Chairman of the committee and Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, announced this on Monday during a meeting at Legacy House, Abuja, ahead of the 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party.
Diri said the committee had already completed its initial assignment but was asked to reconvene following a meeting of PDP governors, the Board of Trustees (BoT), former governors, ministers, and other stakeholders in Gusau, Zamfara State.
“One of the decisions reached was that we should not only zone party offices but also the presidency. The constitution of our party is clear that both must be zoned, so we are going to look at that,” Diri said.
He explained that the zoning committee had finalized its report for submission to the NEC, which would take the final decision on the recommendations. While declining to reveal the details, he expressed confidence that the outcome would reflect the party’s collective wisdom.
On claims by some southern PDP leaders that they were sidelined, Diri clarified that the panel was tasked only with broad zoning between North and South, not micro-zoning of specific offices.
The NCZC was inaugurated on August 14 by Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, to determine the zoning formula for national offices ahead of the November national convention. Damagum urged the members to be guided by fairness, inclusivity, and the vision of a stronger PDP.
