The North West coordinator of Gbenga Hashim Vanguard, Hon. Aminu Bala Wudilawa, has rejected the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) to zone the 2027 presidential ticket to the South.
Wudilawa, who spoke in Kano, faulted the move, describing it as “null and void” and a violation of both the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2022.
According to him, Section 84(3) of the Electoral Act explicitly states that no political party can impose additional conditions on aspirants beyond what is provided for in the constitution.
“Zoning has no legal basis; it is at best a gentleman’s agreement. The constitution guarantees every qualified Nigerian the right to aspire to any office, and PDP cannot take that away,” he declared.
The Gbenga Hashim Vanguard chieftain therefore urged northerners with ambition to freely join the race, insisting that the PDP must allow for a level playing field.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM) in the South West have declared their unwavering support for the presidential aspiration of Olawepo-Hashim, vowing to resist what they described as the “unconstitutional zoning error” of the presidency by PDP.
According to a statement from Hashim’s media office in Abuja,
the resolution was reached on Saturday during a strategic meeting of GHSM leaders, which comprised of mostly PDP leaders from the South West, held in Lagos with delegates in attendance from Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun, and Lagos States.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, the South West coordinator of GHSM, Abass Olaniyi from Osun state, said Nigerians must rally behind leaders whose politics is built on competence, inclusiveness, and national development, rather than sectional considerations.
“We want to make it very clear that the South West will not sit idly by while regressive forces within the PDP try to truncate the aspiration of a visionary leader like Dr. Gbenga Hashim through unconstitutional zoning.”
Nigerians are ready for a truly ideological presidency, not the politics of ethnicity and sectional manipulation,” Olaniyi declared.
He stressed that the South West is resolute in its decision to deliver the region’s votes to ensure Hashim emerges victorious in 2027, describing him as the most prepared among the potential candidates.
The Lagos state coordinator, Hon. Ola Azeez said that, despite having a Lagosian as president of Nigeria, the masses of Nigeria are suffering like never before and we are ready to support a leader with a detribalized orientation who is competent.
The GHSM leaders recalled Hashim’s long standing involvement in Nigeria’s democratic struggle, his consistent calls for issue based politics, and his refusal to engage in the politics of patronage that has weakened many of his contemporaries.
The South West leaders further pledged to resist attempts within the PDP to enforce zoning, insisting that such arrangements lack constitutional backing and undermine the democratic rights of all citizens to aspire to the presidency and a violation of section 84 of the Electoral Act.
