• No such groups exist in South-West, says Atofarati
• 2027: PDP mulls Jonathan, Obi, Makinde as presidential candidate, says Abba Moro

Some stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun and Lagos states, under the platform of Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM), have staged rallies rejecting the zoning of the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the South, declaring the arrangement “null and void.”

The stakeholders, at the rallies, adopted former presidential aspirant, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, as their preferred candidate, insisting that competence and capacity should replace zoning in determining leadership.

In Osogbo, the rally, held at the City Hall, was led by the South-West Coordinator of the GHSM, Abass Olaniyi. It drew notable PDP figures, including a former state secretary, a former woman leader, and grassroots mobilisers. Olaniyi said that Nigeria had moved beyond zoning, stressing the need for a unifying figure.

“The era of division is over. What the country needs now is competence, capacity, and a unifier like Gbenga Hashim,” he said. A similar rally in Lagos, coordinated by the GHSM state coordinator, Ola Azeez, attracted local council and senatorial officials, as well as former state executives. Azeez said the group was committed to dismantling zoning as a “barrier to credible leadership.”

Meanwhile, the rallies signalled a coordinated pushback within the PDP’s South-West bloc against what participants described as “imposition tendencies” by the national leadership.

Similar positions had been expressed in Oyo and Ondo states. Reacting, however, PDP South-West Publicity Secretary, Sanya Atofarati, dismissed the rallies, insisting that no such groups exist in the zone. He accused the ruling party of sponsoring “faceless groups” to destabilise the PDP.

“We are not perturbed at all. To the best of our understanding, the South-West PDP youths, under the leadership of Seyi Bamidele, have passed a vote of confidence on the party’s leadership for zoning the presidential ticket to the South,” he stated.

MEANWHILE, Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, has disclosed that the PDP is considering choosing one among three southerners to become its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

Moro said that former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State have been mentioned for consideration. In an interview on AIT’s programme, Focus Nigeria, Moro disclosed that there are other qualified southerners for consideration.