“Zoning Is a Tool of Blackmail to Weaken Opposition Parties” — Dele Momodu

Former presidential aspirant Dele Momodu has criticised the zoning of presidential tickets ahead of the 2027 general election, describing it as a tool of blackmail designed to weaken opposition parties. In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Momodu argued that zoning sentiments were unconstitutional and deliberately aimed at reducing competition against President Bola Tinubu.

“There is nothing in the Nigerian Constitution that stops anyone, whether you are a northerner or a southerner, from contesting,” he said. “This so-called sentiment is a result and reward of blackmail from some people who want to deliberately keep all other parties down. Because they know that if you zone all other parties to the South in the presidency, none of them will be able to beat Asiwaju.”

Momodu, who is now a chieftain of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the manipulation of zoning was intended to favour the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). “Once you keep all parties and you say, ‘Come and compete,’ people are going to tell you that Asiwaju is already our president, so why are we looking for another president? That is the strategy,” he added.

On the state of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Momodu said the party had been “hijacked” and was no longer capable of rescuing itself from internal sabotage. “PDP has been completely hijacked by agents of the ruling party who insist on staying in PDP while working for APC. It’s a kind of anomaly. If I don’t agree with my party, the honourable thing to do is to resign, and that’s what I did,” he said. “PDP is at a dead end. Some people are desperate; they don’t want to kill it, but they want to keep it in the ICU for whatever purpose in the future. Everybody is just now using PDP as a cadaver room, a place where you keep bodies that are dead or kept in the ICU. It’s a shame, but I have left.”

Momodu also clarified that no candidate, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had been promised an automatic ticket by the ADC. “I don’t think ADC has promised to give an automatic ticket to anyone, including Atiku Abubakar. He is not the sole candidate of ADC,” he said.

The zoning debate resurfaced after the PDP’s National Executive Council meeting on August 25, when the party resolved to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while retaining the chairmanship in the North. Party leaders said the move was aimed at stabilising the PDP ahead of the next election cycle. Critics, however, argue that zoning could undermine the party’s chances against the APC, which has already adopted President Tinubu as its candidate for 2027.