Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has firmly stated that the party will not present a Northern candidate for the presidency in the 2027 general elections.
George made this declaration on Thursday during a meeting convened by the Lagos State chapter of the PDP to mark what members described as the “restoration” of the party.
The elder statesman emphasized that any move to field a Northern candidate would dishonour the legacy of the party’s founding fathers.
“There is no chance that our party will have somebody from the North in 2027. That would be insulting to the founding fathers of the party, many of whom have passed to the great beyond,” George said.
“They (those going against the party’s zoning policy) are perpetually dancing on their (the founding fathers’) graves because they are being insulted.”
He recalled the example of the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, who contested the PDP’s presidential ticket in the past but accepted the outcome without attempting to destabilize the party.
“The late Alex Ekwueme contested for the presidential ticket of the PDP but did not win. However, that did not cause him to collapse the party. That is what you call a God-fearing gentleman,” he stated.
Addressing the issue of defections, George accused President Bola Tinubu of putting pressure on PDP governors to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“In the meantime, I can tell you confidently that Bola Tinubu and his group are coercing our governors to join the APC. However, the power does not belong to him. People of this country, please open your eyes.”
He was critical of PDP members leaving to form new coalitions aimed at defeating the APC, likening them to unstable elements with no lasting impact.
“With all these people running around, a rolling stone gathers no moss. They tried it before, but they ran back. What they are doing is like disowning their father’s house.
“Can you leave your father’s house because it is leaking, and go and stay at a tenant’s?” he asked.
George expressed confidence that such individuals would eventually return to the PDP, reiterating his belief in the party’s resilience and its central role in Nigeria’s democratic journey.
