A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has criticised calls for the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to be zoned to the North, describing such demands as “selfish and manipulative.”

Speaking on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Tuesday, August 26, George commended PDP governors and the National Executive Council (NEC) for resolving to retain the party’s chairmanship in the North while zoning the presidential ticket to the South.

“Unanimously, in that NEC meeting yesterday (Monday), we agreed to zone the ticket to the south for the next four years to complete the eight years in the south. But human beings manipulate because they want to grab power, and it’s nothing but self-centredness,” George said.

He praised the governors for what he described as a bold and fair decision. “I must emphatically thank all our governors; they are respectable young men. They held a meeting in Gusau and told themselves the truth, examined the facts and came up to say, ‘Look, there is no question of the chairman and president being in the same zone,’” he added.

According to him, the decision has put an end to what he termed “existential imbecility” in the party and has begun to foster unity, with some defectors already returning. “It’s refreshing to see us come together as one indivisible party. The more divided a house is, the more defeated it becomes,” he said.

On the issue of members who worked against the PDP in the 2023 general elections, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, George said the party would not hastily resort to punitive measures.

“As a political party, you will have all kinds of characters, and your ability to manage those characters will impact positively on the electorate. We want them to see that we can be accommodating. You can disagree without being disagreeable. We’ve given these characters some time, but if they cannot roll back and fall in line, then the sledgehammer will be brought on them,” he warned.

The PDP’s NEC had, on Monday in Abuja, formally zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South. Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has already adopted President Bola Tinubu as its candidate for the election.