2027 Presidency: Osun Political Group kicks against PDP zoning policy, supports Gbenga Hashim

The Osun State chapter of the Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM) has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to reverse its decision to zone the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the South, warning that such a move would further deepen the party’s internal crisis.

The group made its position known on Tuesday, September 10, 2025, during a press conference held at the Osogbo City Hall, Olonkoro, Osogbo.

According to the South West Coordinator of the movement, Alhaji Abass Olaniyi, zoning has been the major factor behind conflicts in the party since the last presidential election and should be discarded in the interest of unity.

Olaniyi argued that restricting the contest to the South undermines the PDP’s chances at the polls and risks disenfranchising competent and viable aspirants from other regions, including Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim.

He stressed that party leaders across the South West are working to ensure that Olawepo-Hashim emerges as a candidate capable of rescuing Nigeria from its present economic and political challenges.

It is unsettling to note that the PDP has failed to realize that this unconstitutional act of zoning is the root cause of the crisis that has bedeviled the party since the last presidential election and even before then.

"A further decision to zone the party’s presidential ticket will not in any way get the party back on its track, but rather, worsen the situation.”

"There’s nothing the PDP needs as a panacea to heal itself, than to engender factors that unifies the party, enhances fairness and ensure that competent, viable and patriotic members of the party are not disenfranchised so as to heighten PDP chances at the polls come 2027.”

"This is what Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim stands for and is advocating. Nigerians must rally behind leaders whose politics is built on competence, inclusiveness, and national development, rather than sectional considerations," Olaniyi said.

Addressing journalists at the event, the Acting State Coordinator of GHSM, Hon. Tajudeen Hassan, emphasized that competence and capacity should take precedence over sectional considerations.

Flanked by other leaders, Hassan described zoning as undemocratic and a “grievous error” that could have serious implications for the unity of Nigeria.

"This zoning principle has now been given so much prominence, and forcefully adopted as a criterion in key political decision making.”

"It was this same factor that informed the recent decision of the National Executive Council of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to zone its Presidential ticket to the Southern part of Nigeria, a decision we see as a grievous error and bad precedent that could be devastating to the unity of Nigeria.

"We want to state categorically that we oppose any decision capable of alienating a section of the country.”

“We want to make it very clear that Osun State 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 longing for a truly ideological presidency, not the politics of ethnicity and sectional manipulation.

"Let me state without mincing words that we in Osun State are resolute in our quest to deliver votes to ensure that Dr. Hashim Olawepo, emerges victorious in 2027. Hashim, a founding member of the PDP, is not just a unifying figure, he is also the most prepared among the potential aspirants," Hassan said.

The women leader of the group, Hon. Olawale Adenike, also lent her voice, saying Nigeria needs a detribalized leader like Olawepo-Hashim who combines private and public sector experience with a strong record of advocacy for democracy, social justice, and economic reforms.

She argued that despite the current administration being led by a Southerner, Nigerians are experiencing economic hardship, hence the need for competence rather than regional politics. "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."

In his remarks, Hon. Jimoh Lanre Bello (J.B.) charged members of the GHSM to remain committed to the movement’s vision, assuring them that fairness and transparency would guide their activities.

Other speakers, including Hon. Bello Musiliu Olalekan, Hon. Elder Ponle, Hon. Adejare Musediq, Hon. Bayo Bello, and Hon. Kamoru Ajetunmobi, echoed similar sentiments, stressing the need for unity and inclusiveness.

Also in attendance were Hon. Gbenjo Ezekiel, Hon. Wasiu Sekoni, Hon. Ajibola Yakub, and representatives from various local government areas across Osun State. The gathering ended with a renewed call for the PDP to abandon zoning and embrace open competition ahead of its forthcoming national convention.