Federal lawmakers from the Southeast under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have threatened to boycott the party’s forthcoming National Convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, over an alleged plan to move the position of National Woman Leader from the Southeast to the South-South zone.
The lawmakers, led by Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, who represents Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State, accused Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, of being behind the plot to alter the existing zoning formula. They described the move as a deliberate attempt to humiliate and sideline the Southeast in the PDP’s national structure.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Ugochinyere said the party risks deeper internal division and mass defections if the plan is not stopped before the screening exercise for national offices begins.
According to him, the position of National Woman Leader had long been zoned to the Southeast, with Imo State expected to produce the next occupant. He explained that PDP stakeholders in the region had earlier agreed on Mrs. Ifeyinwa Arodiogbu, the current Southeast Zonal Woman Leader, as the preferred candidate for the national post.
However, Ugochinyere said that arrangement changed after Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, who has now defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), allegedly pushed to move the position to his state.
“Now that Governor Mbah has left the PDP for the APC, that arrangement can no longer stand,” Ugochinyere said. “His nominee for the Woman Leader post has also moved with him to the APC. This gives Imo State a rightful claim to produce the next National Woman Leader.”
The lawmaker accused some PDP governors of using zoning to play political games that weaken the Southeast’s influence in the party. “We are seeing a pattern of marginalisation,” he said. “The Southeast has always stood by the PDP, but now it seems the party is deliberately working to alienate our people.”
Ugochinyere said the lawmakers would issue a formal disclaimer against the convention in two weeks if the zoning issue is not resolved in favour of the Southeast. “If this injustice is allowed to stand, no elected PDP lawmaker from the Southeast will participate in the Ibadan convention,” he warned.
He further said, “We don’t want to see PDP suffer more setbacks. But we will stand our ground if, in the next few weeks, the position of National Woman Leader is not expressly given to Imo State. The party should correct this injustice before it’s too late.”
The lawmakers also appealed to Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo and Ademola Adeleke of Osun State to intervene and help resolve the crisis before the convention. Ugochinyere said their involvement would be critical in restoring confidence among Southeast party members.
“If this issue is not attended to, it will provoke the entire Southeast and worsen the internal crisis within our party,” he added. “This is not about one person; it’s about fairness and respect for the zoning formula that binds our party together.”
He cautioned that any attempt to tamper with the zoning arrangement could lead to widespread anger and possibly mass defections from the PDP in the Southeast, a region that has been one of the party’s strongest bases since 1999.
The forthcoming national convention in Ibadan, scheduled to produce new members of the National Working Committee (NWC), is seen as an opportunity for the PDP to rebuild and strengthen its internal cohesion. However, the new crisis over the Woman Leader position may further complicate that effort.
Party insiders say the Southeast has traditionally held key positions in the PDP’s national structure, and any move to deprive the region of the Woman Leader slot could be interpreted as a lack of respect for its long-standing support.
A former PDP chieftain from Enugu, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the zoning of national offices has always been a sensitive issue within the party. “Every zone wants to feel carried along,” he said. “If the PDP wants to regain national relevance, it must treat all regions fairly.”
Meanwhile, there are reports that consultations are ongoing between PDP governors and members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to prevent the situation from escalating.
Party officials at the national secretariat in Abuja declined to comment officially, but a senior official confirmed that the concerns raised by the Southeast lawmakers had been noted and would be discussed before the convention.
