Tajudeen Yusuf, a member of the Nyesom Wike group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has warned that the party risks ruin if it fails to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region.
Yusuf, a member of the Nyesom Wike group within the PDP, spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
Yusuf emphasised that zoning the ticket to the South would restore unity and attract key figures like Peter Obi back to the party.
”No single politician can win an election without collective goodwill. Zone to the south and see what will happen, but if we continue this trajectory and continue to progress in error, we are postponing the doomsday,” he stated.
Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); and other G5 members met on Monday and advocated that the PDP zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the Southern region of the country.
Yusuf urged the PDP to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, citing the party’s need for unity and electoral strength.
Yusuf believes that if the PDP ticket is zoned to the South, Peter Obi might be more comfortable returning to the party.
”Zone to the south and see what will happen, but if we continue this trajectory and continue to progress in error, we are postponing the doomsday.
“If today, the PDP ticket is zoned to the South, I have a conviction Peter Obi will be more comfortable coming to PDP,” he said.
Yusuf noted that Atiku is no longer in the PDP but is part of ongoing coalition talks, suggesting that the party must move beyond relying on individual figures.
Yusuf attributed the PDP’s 2023 presidential election loss to poor leadership decisions and a controversial northern zoning strategy, blaming Atiku for the loss.
He also noted that PDP’s internal fractures, particularly the fallout from Atiku candidacy, as a key reason for the party’s defeat.
“I blame Atiku for the 2023 election loss,” he said, criticising the decision to zone the presidential ticket to the North.
“If Atiku had not bungled the Obi relationship, if Obi had remained in PDP, and he had picked Obi as vice president, he would have won the election.
”Obi represented the southern agitations. Nigerians were looking for something different, ” he said.
