PDP Chieftain: 2027 Election About Competence, Not Zoning

A chieftain of Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the notion that the 2027 presidential election must follow a regional rotation, arguing the contest should focus on competence and national unity instead. Gbenga Hashim-Olawepo made the statement during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme on Wednesday.

Hashim-Olawepo stated that the upcoming election should be judged on a candidate’s ability to grow the economy, ensure security, and unite the country, rather than on ethnic, religious, or regional identity. He described the frequent narrative that it is “the turn” of the North or South as a “dubious narration.”

He provided historical context, linking the origin of such zoning talks to the aftermath of the annulled 1993 presidential election. “In 1999, the only reason this conversation came up was because there was annulment of June 12, and it was felt by the political leaders that the PDP should seek a president from the South West that could help to heal that wound, and so President Obasanjo became the beneficiary of that national consensus,” Hashim-Olawepo explained.

This challenge to zoning, an unwritten practice where Nigeria’s major parties informally rotate the presidency between the predominantly Muslim North and largely Christian South, will resonate in the lead-up to 2027. Since the return to democracy in 1999, this regional balancing act has been a key feature of political negotiations, though it is not constitutionally mandated. The current president, Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is from the South-West, having been elected in 2023. His predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, was from the North.

Hashim-Olawepo’s intervention highlights an ongoing debate within Nigerian politics about whether nation-building is better served by an explicit focus on competence and policy, or by continued adherence to regional power-sharing formulas aimed at preventing dominance by any single group. His comments position the PDP, which has itself previously benefited from zoning arrangements, to potentially redefine its approach for the next election cycle. The significance of his assertion lies in its potential to shift campaign discourse from identity-based calculations to a more substantive contest on leadership qualities and national development priorities.