2027: PDP’s Alleged Shortlisting of Jonathan, Obi, Makinde Raises Dust

Alleged shortlisting of former President Goodluck Jonathan, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2027 presidential ticket has stirred controversy within the party.

Reports credited to Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro suggested the PDP had penciled down the three Southern politicians as potential flagbearers after zoning the 2027 presidential ticket to the South. Party insiders say Jonathan and Obi, who left the PDP in 2022, are being courted by some leaders to return and run under the platform.

While the reports fueled speculation, PDP Deputy National Legal Adviser Okechukwu Osuoha dismissed talk of an official shortlist. He explained that the party is still engaged in consultations and negotiations, with several Southern aspirants quietly reaching out to stakeholders. According to him, the focus for now is on the national convention, where new officers will be elected before attention turns to the presidential primaries.

Osuoha added that although many people may declare interest, the zoning arrangement will guide the process, ensuring the candidate emerges from the South-West, South-East, or South-South. He stressed that the PDP’s priority is unity and transparency, promising that the primaries will be free and fair.

Meanwhile, a northern presidential hopeful, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, through his North West supporters, warned against using Jonathan as a “spoiler” in the primaries. The group, led by Aminu Bala Wudilawa, said Jonathan had the right to contest but cautioned that reducing the process to ethnic politics would be divisive and harmful to the party.

Wudilawa accused the PDP of edging out competent northern aspirants, describing the zoning decision as a deliberate attempt to sideline figures like Hashim, whom he praised as a democrat with integrity and the vision to address Nigeria’s economic and security challenges.

The group vowed to resist any strategy designed to undermine Hashim’s ambition, insisting that Nigerians were looking for forward-looking leadership, not what they termed “a return to corruption and provincialism.”