Veteran actor and Labour Party chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, describing it as a deceptive political move rather than genuine zoning. He argued that what the PDP announced after its recent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting does not amount to zoning in the true sense of the term.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Okonkwo said zoning, by definition, must be done within Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, not between the North and South. He explained that rotation of power is what alternates between North and South, while zoning requires specifying which of the six zones should produce the candidate.
“Let it be clear that what the PDP did at their last NEC meeting was not zoning, it was deception,” Okonkwo wrote. “Zoning is among the six geopolitical zones, not between North and South. Rotation is between North and South. Presidential power is in the South now, not in the North, so the issue of rotation does not arise.”
Okonkwo maintained that if equity, justice, and fairness are to guide Nigeria’s democratic process, then political parties should zone their presidential tickets to the South-East. He emphasized that the South-East remains the only geopolitical zone in the South that has not produced a president since Nigeria’s return to democracy.
He compared the current situation to 1999, when all major political parties agreed to zone their presidential tickets to the South-West, leading to the emergence of Yoruba candidates such as Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae. According to him, such a collective arrangement ensured fairness at the time and could do the same today if applied to the South-East.
“If all the parties are serious in zoning the post of the President to a geopolitical zone in the interest of equity, justice, and fairness, let APC, PDP, ADC, LP and every other party zone it to the South-East,” Okonkwo argued. “Without this arrangement, any opposition party that falls into this monkey trick, formulated by the G-5 members of the PDP to zone the ticket to Tinubu, is as dead as the PDP.”
The Labour Party figure also offered his perspective on how opposition parties could effectively challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. He stressed that the most viable strategy is not through deceptive zoning but through conducting free, fair, and transparent party primaries that would allow the best candidate to emerge.
“The only strategy by any party willing to win Tinubu in 2027 is to allow a free, fair, and transparent presidential primary election among every Nigerian citizen interested to run from any part of the country,” he said. He suggested that such a candidate should preferably come from a geopolitical zone that has not produced a president since 1999, to balance the nation’s political equation.
Okonkwo concluded that only through this approach can the opposition present a credible alternative capable of defeating Tinubu and steering the country toward recovery. He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of mismanaging Nigeria and warned that any party unwilling to put forward a serious candidate risks irrelevance in the coming elections.
His remarks come amid growing debates about zoning, rotation, and regional fairness ahead of the 2027 polls. The PDP’s announcement to zone its ticket to the South has already sparked controversy, with critics arguing that the move is designed to favor certain political interests rather than promote inclusivity. For Okonkwo, the issue remains a test of whether Nigeria’s political class is willing to prioritize national unity over partisan advantage.
