The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is grappling with fresh internal discord as influential blocs within Lagos and Osun States openly rejected the party’s zoning arrangement, instead rallying behind prominent business leader, Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, as their preferred flagbearer for the 2027 general elections.
The growing pushback against zoning is fueling concerns among party loyalists that the development could trigger major realignments within the PDP ahead of the crucial polls.
In Osogbo, stakeholders converged under the platform of the Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement, GHSM, led by its South West Coordinator, Alhaji Abass Olaniyi, who declared that Nigeria’s future should no longer be tied to sectional politics.
“The era of division is over in Nigeria. What the country needs now is competence, capacity, and a unifier,” Olaniyi stated.
A similar sentiment was echoed in Lagos, where a coalition of local government and senatorial leaders, coordinated by Hon. Ola Azeez, also denounced the zoning formula.
“This is a new era. The nation must rise above sectional divides and embrace competence and capability, embodied in the vision Hashim represents,” Azeez declared.
The simultaneous rallies in both states mirror a wider pushback against the PDP leadership. Only last week, party figures in Oyo and Ondo states issued strong warnings against zoning, arguing it could deepen rifts rather than unite the opposition.
The agitation is not limited to the South-West. In the Federal Capital Territory, the PDP chapter has already endorsed Olawepo-Hashim, while party stakeholders in Plateau and Kano have staged protests and voiced strong resistance to the zoning template.
