PDP Admits ‘Mistake’ in Fielding Atiku in 2023, Zones 2027 Ticket to South

In a significant admission of error, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has openly regretted selecting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a northern candidate, for the 2023 presidential election, attributing its disastrous loss to that miscalculation.

Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro made the revelation in a televised interview, stating that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has now made a “strategic correction” by zoning its 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region.

He described this move as a necessary step rooted in “fairness, equity, and justice.”

“A majority of us, virtually all of us, agreed that a mistake was made in 2023,” Moro stated.

“This time round, in the spirit of unity… PDP leaders decided to swallow their saliva and say, let’s take this thing to the south, where majority of the people expected that it would have been.”

Moro explained that the decision to open the ticket in 2023, which allowed a northern candidate to succeed a northern president, “backfired” as Nigerian voters resisted the move.

The Senate Minority leader also revealed ongoing efforts to woo former Anambra Governor Peter Obi back to the PDP from the Labour Party.

“I’m aware that certain individuals have been talking to Peter Obi, saying, come back home… you stand a chance of being a candidate,” Moro said, adding that Obi’s return would significantly bolster the party’s chances in 2027.

Furthermore, Moro addressed speculation about former President Goodluck Jonathan, dismissing potential constitutional barriers to his candidacy. He cited judicial precedents from 2015 that confirmed Jonathan was qualified to run for a second elected term despite having completed the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s tenure.

This bold zoning decision and public admission of past failures signal the PDP’s attempt to reunite, learn from its mistakes, and present a formidable challenge in the next general election.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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