Premium News
PDP ZONING FORMULA EMERGES AS NEC GETS REPORT TODAY
Details of the expected zoning formula of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have emerged, as the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meets today to receive the official report of its zoning committee at the 102nd NEC session in Abuja.
Recall that the tenure of the current National Working Committee of the party, led by Ambassador Umar Damagum, will come to an end in December.
To ensure a smooth transition, the party’s 101st NEC had earlier approved November 15–16 for its national elective convention to be held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The zoning committee was also set up in July by the NEC with Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, as chairman, Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, as vice chairman, and Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, as secretary.
The panel was mandated to share the 19 National Working Committee (NWC) positions between the North and the South ahead of the party’s national elective convention.
According to multiple sources within the PDP, the committee has recommended that the current zoning arrangement be maintained, meaning that both the North and South will retain their existing positions.
The report, which NEC will deliberate on and is expected to ratify at its session by 2pm, indicates that the South has already micro-zoned its slots to its three geopolitical zones, while the North will conclude its own internal sharing after today’s meeting.
A senior NWC official confirmed the development.
“From the report we have seen, the zoning committee upheld the current zoning formula. The South has already micro-zoned its offices to the geopolitical zones, while the North will finalise its own arrangements after the NEC,” the source said.
Last Thursday, southern stakeholders meeting in Lagos shared the offices allocated to their region. Under the arrangement, the South-South got the Deputy National Chairman and National Publicity Secretary; the South-West got the National Secretary and National Auditor; while the South-East secured the Deputy National Secretary and Financial Secretary.
It is understood that due to the influence of Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, the National Secretary was micro-zoned to Oyo, while Akwa Ibom picked the Publicity Secretary slot.
The zoning and convention arrangements have not been without dispute. The camp of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, had warned that failure to respect resolutions of the South-South Congress in Calabar could trigger fresh crises in the party.
“Before you talk about the convention, resolve the matter. If the matter is not resolved, there will be a crisis,” Wike said.
Similarly, some southern leaders loyal to Wike, last week rejected the micro-zoning outcome of the Lagos stakeholders’ meeting.
