Bode George To Atiku: No Northerner Should Aspire To Be PDP Presidential Candidate In 2027

A former deputy national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, has reiterated that no Northerner will be allowed to be the presidential candidate of the Party until 2031.

George, who spoke to newsmen at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, said that for justice, fairness, and equity, no Northerner should be planning to be the PDP presidential candidate in 2027.

This may be in reference to the statement credited to the former vice president and PDP presidential candidate in 2023, Atiku Abubakar, who said after the Supreme Court Judgment that he’s not going away. Again, he met leaders of political parties from Labour Party, ADC, APGA , and SDP recently with a view to form a coalition against the All Progressives Congress in 2027.

But George, during the news conference, though did not mention any name said Atiku should perish the thought, adding that the PDP lost the 2023 presidential election because it jettisoned the zoning arrangements put in place by the founding fathers of the party.

He said it’s a recipe for chaos if anyone is thinking of reenacting the injustice that made PDP lose the presidential election in 2023 in 2027.

Continuing, he said: “We should not also forget that we have off-cycle elections in Ondo and Edo states.

“So, while I reiterate my solidarity to the tenets of our party constitution, I can not remain passive when the collective unity of this party is fragmented. How we collectively address the issues at stake will be a major determinant of the fate of this party in months and years to come.

“It is our determination to ensure that the PDP returns to the Presidential Villa in Abuja on May 29, 2027. But, we can only go back to Aso Rock if we are united, not divided.

“So, I don’t really understand the rhetorics in some quarters these days that a member of the party from the North is strategising or plotting to return as the presidential candidate of our party in 2027.

“A Northerner cannot be the presidential candidate of our party in 2027, pure and simple. The earlier some members pushing this agenda know this truth, the better for our collective sanity. I have nothing against Northerners. In fact, my best friend is from the North, but PDP members must understand this reality before it is too late that a PDP member from the Southern part of the country must be our candidate, and we must all support him to defeat the APC candidate in the 2027 elections.

“Until 2031, nobody should think of contesting for the presidential ticket of our party from the North. The real elders in our party should stand up and say the truth. The truth may be bitter, but it must be said without any emotion or else, the founding fathers of our party, some of whom have exited this world, will not forgive us.

“Since 2015, we have seen how the APC-led presidency has continued to destroy the economy, burning the bridge that binds us together. Nigerians are waiting for us in the next general elections but to think of a Northerner as our saviour in 2027 is a joke taken too far.

” I still don’t believe the story but, according to a popular saying, there is no smoke without fire. If it is true, the outcome will be calamitous. This is a ‘clear and present danger’ that may, eternally, work against our party. The moment you remove justice, fairness and equity from any system, organisation or group, failure is knocking at the door.

“I cried loudly before the last general elections that we cannot shut out the South from our strategy and hope to win. Two Northerners emerged as our Presidential candidate and National Chairman. We all saw the outcome.

“I can boldly say that those who supported that idea gave the opportunity for Tinubu to become the president today and a repeat of that fiasco will lead to the end of PDP in 2027.

“I want to alert Nigerians that the primitive agenda that led to the PDP losing the February 25, 2023 presidential election is rearing its ugly head again.

“I want Nigerians and PDP members to know that Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, one of the founding fathers and a former Deputy National Chairman of our party, is not anti-party and will never do or say anything against the interest of this party, but I abhor and hate injustice at any level.

“I am a tireless defender of democracy; have always fought for equity and justice for all with respect to the constitution of this nation and our party. I have never left the party, no matter what situation besets me.

“How we collectively address the issues at stake will be a major determinant of the fate of this party in 2027.

“I have no iota of tribalism in my blood. I stand to fight for inclusiveness for all Nigerians in the political process of this country and especially in this party where some of us have suffered great injustice for the fight of equity and justice for all.”