ABUJA — Former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has criticized the party’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, describing it as a “default campaign” for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Monday, Olawepo-Hashim said the move was unprecedented in the PDP’s history and could effectively shut out northern aspirants from the race.
“What has happened today is unprecedented. PDP has never zoned its presidential ticket before. It means if you are a northerner, you find another party,” he stated.
He argued that the zoning decision is being championed by party members who are already sympathetic to Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
“The zoning of the presidency to the South is a default campaign for return of President Asiwaju. This is because those who are mounting this campaign are the same people who say, ‘We are in PDP, but we work for President Asiwaju,’” Olawepo-Hashim said.
He further alleged that many PDP figures pushing the zoning agenda are, in reality, committed to ensuring Tinubu faces no strong challenger in 2027.
“So it’s a default campaign for the PDP not to have a viable candidate by those people,” he concluded.
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