“Party Rift Widens: Southern PDP Chiefs Snub Lagos Zoning Summit”

A significant rift has surfaced within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as several Southern leaders—including state chairmen, National Assembly members, and former party executives reportedly aligned with the Nyesom Wike faction—have publicly rejected the ongoing zoning consultative summit held in Lagos.

According to iReporter Online, the Lagos meeting, organized by the PDP Zoning Committee, was intended to discuss power-sharing arrangements ahead of the party’s national convention scheduled for November 15–16 and the 2027 general elections.

However, in a strongly worded statement released Thursday, the aggrieved Southern leaders denounced the summit as “illegal, exclusionary, and unrepresentative” of Southern PDP stakeholders.

They insisted that any decisions or communiqués emanating from the meeting are “neither binding on nor reflective of the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria.”

“Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus,” the statement emphasized.

According to iReporter Online, the declaration was signed by state chairmen from Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers—Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, Barr. Venatuis Ikem, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Akpan, and Aaron Chukwuemeka respectively.

Other signatories include National Vice Chairman (South-East) Hon. Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck; House of Representatives Minority Leader Hon. O. K. Chinda; Senators Igwe Nwagu, Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, and Mike Ama Nnachi; former National Secretary Rt. Hon. Onwe S. Onwe; Deputy National Legal Adviser Barr.

Okechukwu Osuoha; and former Ebonyi State Legal Adviser Barr. Mudi Erhenede.

The group accused the summit’s organizers of sidelining critical stakeholders, including several state chairmen from the South-East and South-South zones, the National Secretary, Deputy National Legal Adviser, and key National Assembly officers.

“It is deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting several state chairmen, eminent leaders, and critical stakeholders.

Even former governors from the South-East and South-South, who remain vital to the party’s future, were deliberately excluded,” the statement noted.

According to iReporter Online, the leaders further argued that the exclusion of statutory organs of the party violates PDP’s principles of collective decision-making and risks undermining party unity.

They dismissed the Lagos summit as “premature and self-serving,” alleging it served the ambitions of a few individuals while the official Zoning Committee has yet to submit its report for ratification by the National Executive Committee (NEC).

“For the avoidance of doubt, any resolutions from this meeting are null and void and should be disregarded by the National Working Committee (NWC), the NEC, and all stakeholders.

The so-called summit is divisive and targeted at protecting the interest of a select few,” the group warned.

The statement concluded by urging party leaders to uphold due process and foster inclusive dialogue to prevent further fractures within the PDP ahead of the 2027 elections.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”