By Daniel Edu
A prominent chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, has urged the party to prioritize the selection of a southern presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections. Pearse, who served as the head of the Directorate of Documentation/Reporting for Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 campaign in Lagos and coordinated support groups for the Atiku/Okowa ticket, warned that nominating another northern candidate could hurt the party’s chances in the upcoming presidential race.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, Pearse expressed strong support for the idea of fielding a southern candidate in 2027, emphasizing the widespread national sentiment in favor of this approach. He said, “The national opinion now, the tendency, the feeling generally, is that the PDP should field a southerner for president in 2027. That is the general feeling. We need somebody from the South to complete these four years, to complete the eight years of southern presidency, so that we can rescue Nigeria.”
Pearse added, “That is the feeling of Nigerians now. Therefore, I will go with the idea that it is not strategic, it is not in our best interest to say we are supporting a northerner for president.”
### Rejecting Political Mergers
Pearse also addressed discussions about a possible merger between major opposition parties, such as the Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and the PDP, to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027. He dismissed the idea, citing the historical difficulty of successful political mergers in Nigeria.
“An alliance in our politics, even abroad, is very difficult because it is hard for competing groups and leaders to make concessions for one another,” Pearse remarked. “It is not easy, and it is not even realistic. We tried it before and I have a lot of experience with this. It is not possible for PDP to go into any alliance in 2027. I personally think it is very unlikely.”
He further argued that the LP and NNPP would not significantly strengthen any opposition alliance, given that both parties only secured one gubernatorial seat each in the 2023 general elections.
### PDP’s Path to Victory
Despite these challenges, Pearse expressed confidence that the PDP could win the 2027 presidential election, especially with a southern candidate at the helm. He noted the party’s solid base of support, including its 12 state governorships and significant representation in the National Assembly.
“We just need to strengthen our party,” Pearse said. “We need to reach out to our members that have left the party. If they come back to the party, even if 60 percent of them come back, we will win the next election.”
He added, “We won the last election because it was very close. We have 12 governors and about 40 percent of the National Assembly. PDP already has 12 states, and all we need to win are a few more to dislodge the APC.”
### Lessons from the 2023 Elections
Reflecting on the PDP’s loss in the 2023 elections, Pearse attributed part of the party’s defeat to internal divisions over the issue of zoning. He explained that the PDP’s failure to clarify the constitutional principle that when the national chairman is from the north, the presidential candidate must be from the south, contributed to the party’s disarray.
“The party went astray last time because they did not clarify the constitutional tenets that said if the national chairman comes from the north, the presidential candidate cannot also come from the north,” Pearse said. “Since we normally elect the national chairman before the presidential candidate, it was expected that the national chairman (Dr. Iyorchia Ayu) would gracefully step down once a northerner emerged for president. That did not happen. That was the beginning of our problems. It was a divided house that lost that election.”
He also pointed out that former presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar did not do enough to address the internal conflict. “The Presidential Candidate, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, also didn’t do enough to solve the problem. We are not going to allow it to happen now,” Pearse concluded.
