State chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alongside former governors, National Assembly members, serving and former National Working Committee (NWC) members, and other key stakeholders from Southern Nigeria, have disowned a meeting scheduled for Thursday by some party groups to discuss zoning arrangements in Lagos.
In a joint statement, the leaders dismissed “any resolutions, communiqués, or outcomes purportedly emanating from this meeting as neither binding on nor reflective of the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria,” stressing that “decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus.”
The statement, titled “Re: Purported Meeting Of PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” was signed by the state party chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers States, Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, Barr. Venatuis Ikem, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Akpan, and Aaron Chukwuemeka, alongside National Vice Chairman (South-East), Hon. Chidiebere Egwu Goodluck, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. O. K. Chinda, and several other prominent party leaders.
They faulted the Lagos meeting, convened under the banner of “PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit” by the Admin Secretary of the Zoning Committee, describing it as exclusionary and illegitimate.
According to them, several state chairmen, national officers, former governors, and principal lawmakers from the South-East and South-South were deliberately sidelined, raising concerns about the credibility of any outcome from such a gathering.
The PDP leaders warned that the move undermines the party’s values of inclusivity, equity, and collective responsibility, and risks fueling division at a time when unity is most needed.
They further described the so-called summit as “premature and targeted at protecting the selfish ambitions of a select few,” noting that the Zoning Committee set up by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has not yet submitted its report for ratification.
Reaffirming their commitment to party unity, the leaders called on the National Working Committee (NWC), NEC, and other stakeholders to disregard the Lagos meeting and any resolutions from it.
They vowed to resist any attempt to manipulate zoning arrangements through exclusionary tactics, warning that if any regard is given to the outcome, they would take appropriate steps under the party’s constitution to challenge it.
