Twenty days to the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ibadan, South-West leaders of the party have micro-zoned the positions of national secretary and national auditor to Oyo and Ogun states respectively. The deputy national organising secretary position was zoned to Ekiti and Ondo states.

The micro-zoning arrangement followed a virtual meeting convened by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, with some members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) over the choice of candidates for national offices.

Sources disclosed that the meeting was held amid internal tension in the North, following the reported adoption of former Minister of Special Duties, Taminu Turaki (SAN), by some North-West stakeholders as their consensus candidate for the position of national chairman, zoned to the region.

However, several northern leaders, including the outgoing National Organising Secretary, Hon. Umar Bature, have rejected Turaki’s emergence, claiming there was no proper consultation before his “imposition.”

The disagreement deepened on Sunday as stakeholders of the Jigawa State chapter of the PDP openly opposed Turaki’s selection, insisting that the process violated earlier resolutions of the Northern PDP caucus, which had directed the North-West to nominate a suitable candidate.

Back in the South, the Makinde-led meeting was attended by PDP stalwarts, including former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George; Dr Olu Alabi; National Vice Chairman (South-West), Barrister Kamorudeen Ajisafe; and BoT member, Alhaja Atinuke Oyawoye (Osun State).

Governor Makinde reportedly informed participants that two aspirants had approached him for the national secretary position. He later excused himself from the meeting, after the slot was conceded to Oyo State, to attend another engagement.

Other leaders subsequently resolved to zone the national auditor post to Ogun/Lagos, sparking a brief debate over whether the seat should go specifically to Ogun, given that Lagos currently holds the deputy national secretary position.

Sources revealed that the meeting later agreed to concede the post to Ogun State, in recognition of the “tremendous support and contributions” of Hon. Ladi Adebutu and other PDP stakeholders in the state.

It was also resolved that the Ondo–Ekiti axis would produce a consensus candidate for the position of deputy national organising secretary ahead of the convention.

According to the PDP’s timetable, the collection of nomination forms by aspirants ends September 3, while the submission deadline to the Directorate of Organisation and Mobilisation is September 26.

Meanwhile, members of the PDP from the South-East in the House of Representatives have threatened to boycott the national convention if the national woman leader position is removed from the zone.

Spokesperson of the caucus, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, issued the warning in a statement on Sunday, insisting that the position must remain in the South-East, particularly in Imo State.

Ugochinyere alleged that some party leaders were plotting to reassign the position to the South-South, warning that such a move would “provoke the entire South-East and alienate the zone from the PDP.”

He argued that since Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State had defected to the APC, the earlier arrangement giving the position to Enugu no longer stood. “The defection has provided an opportunity to correct the injustice of depriving Imo of the woman leader slot,” he said.

In a related development, the Jigawa PDP has rejected the endorsement of Taminu Turaki (SAN) as the North’s consensus candidate for national chairman, describing it as “against the interest of the North-West.”

State Chairman, Dr Babandi Ibrahim Gumel, said during a Hausa radio programme monitored in Dutse that the decision contradicts the earlier understanding that the North-West should produce the next chairman.

Gumel, a loyalist of former Governor Sule Lamido, said stakeholders in the North-West were denied the opportunity to nominate their preferred candidate, despite earlier directives.
He added that “none of those nominated even bought nomination forms,” stressing that PDP must be led by “someone capable of reviving the party from its current challenges.”

Meanwhile, the PDP has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and the judiciary to guarantee a hitch-free and credible convention.

In a statement by the Convention Media and Publicity Sub-Committee, the party cautioned against any attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to use legal or administrative means to disrupt the exercise scheduled for November 15–16 in Ibadan.

“These fears are not unfounded,” the statement read. “Given the APC’s antecedents, the possibility of using intra-party or external elements to thwart the PDP’s national convention cannot be ruled out.”

The PDP called for unity among members, urging them not to allow internal crises or external interference to derail preparations.

“To all PDP faithful, this is the time to unite more than ever before. We have laboured and nurtured Nigerian democracy to its present stage; nothing should be allowed to derail our progress,” the statement added.