Publisher of Ovation magazine and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Aare Dele Momodu, has stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should peacefully vacate office if he loses the 2027 presidential election.
Writing on X on Thursday, Momodu dismissed claims that the PDP had zoned the presidency to the North following the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010.
“There was never a zoning. Yar’Adua died but PDP never insisted on power remaining in the North. Jonathan could have governed for a total of nine years if he defeated Buhari in 2015,” Momodu wrote.
The PDP stalwart argued that since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, the South has already dominated the presidency, citing former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s eight years in power, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s five years, and Tinubu’s projected four years by 2027, making a combined total of 17 years.
He pointed out that the North, within the same period, would have produced presidents for only 11 years.
“If Tinubu wins fair and square in 2027, so be it, and if opposition beats him black and blue, he should please go back home, in peace,” Momodu said.
His comments reignited debate on social media, with critics noting that the PDP zoned its presidential ticket to the North in 2019 when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar became its candidate. Others argued that zoning in Nigerian politics has always been flexible and shaped by party strategy at decisive moments.
The issue of zoning and power rotation remains a polarising question as the country edges closer to the 2027 presidential contest.
