By Deborah Onaolapo
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigeria Democratic Congress has zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to southern Nigeria, intensifying early political calculations ahead of the next general election.
The decision emerged Saturday during the party’s national convention after delegates adopted a resolution moved by Afam Victor and seconded by Seyi Sowumi, according to party officials and local media reports.
The resolution also projected that the party’s presidential ticket would return to northern Nigeria in 2031, reinforcing a regional rotation formula that has increasingly shaped Nigeria’s major political parties since the country’s return to democracy in 1999.
The move immediately fueled speculation over potential southern contenders within the emerging opposition coalition seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The NDC’s zoning arrangement comes days after party chieftain Buba Galadima publicly declared that the party had ceded its presidential slot to the South and would conduct open primaries instead of imposing a consensus candidate.
Galadima said the party intended to allow aspirants to test their popularity through internal democratic contests.
The development is expected to deepen conversations around possible ambitions by Peter Obi, who recently aligned with the NDC alongside former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso amid widening opposition realignments. Neither politician has formally declared interest in the NDC ticket, but both figures remain central to opposition calculations after their strong showings in previous election cycles.
Nigeria’s unwritten zoning tradition has remained one of the country’s most contentious political balancing mechanisms. Since the end of military rule in 1999, major parties have alternated presidential power between the predominantly Muslim North and largely Christian South to manage ethnic and regional tensions in Africa’s most populous country.
That arrangement fractured during the 2023 election cycle when the Peoples Democratic Party left its presidential ticket open, enabling former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from northern Nigeria to emerge as candidate despite calls for power to shift southward after former President Muhammadu Buhari completed eight years in office. The dispute triggered internal rebellion within the PDP led by then Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike and exposed longstanding fractures inside the opposition party.
By formally reserving its 2027 ticket for southern aspirants, the NDC appears determined to avoid the internal turmoil that weakened rival opposition platforms before the last presidential election. Analysts say the decision could help consolidate support across southern voting blocs while allowing northern power brokers to negotiate influence around the vice-presidential slot and party leadership positions.
The zoning formula mirrors earlier decisions by the PDP, which in 2025 also handed its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while retaining its national chairmanship in northern Nigeria. Party leaders at the time argued that the arrangement was necessary to preserve regional balance and internal cohesion.
Political observers, however, say zoning alone may not resolve the broader structural challenges confronting Nigeria’s opposition movements. The NDC, despite attracting prominent defectors and coalition figures, is still battling questions surrounding its organizational stability, legal structure and nationwide grassroots machinery.
Online discussions and political commentary in recent days have highlighted concerns over internal litigation and leadership disputes within the relatively new party. Some critics have warned that unresolved legal battles could threaten the coalition’s stability ahead of candidate nominations and primaries.
Still, the party’s leadership insists it is consolidating rapidly. Galadima recently said the NDC planned to submit its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission within regulatory deadlines as part of efforts to strengthen national operations.
The announcement also places fresh pressure on other opposition parties struggling to retain relevance amid shifting alliances. The PDP and Labour Party continue grappling with defections, factional disagreements and strategic uncertainty as influential politicians reposition themselves ahead of the 2027 contest.
For many Nigerian voters, the debate extends beyond regional rotation into broader concerns about economic hardship, insecurity and governance failures. Inflation, currency instability and rising living costs have dominated public frustration under successive administrations, creating an opening opposition leaders hope to exploit in the next election cycle.
Yet recent history shows that opposition coalitions in Nigeria often collapse under competing ambitions before reaching the ballot. The African Democratic Congress coalition talks in 2025 similarly generated excitement before fragmentation and defections weakened momentum.
