Kwankwaso Backs NDC’s Southern Zoning Plan, Calls It Path to National Healing
Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has thrown his weight behind the Nigeria Democratic Congress’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, describing the move as a reflection of fairness and a necessary step toward national healing.
Kwankwaso made the endorsement on Saturday at the party’s national convention in Abuja, where delegates approved the zoning arrangement after heated but orderly deliberations. He said the decision aligned with the NDC’s long-standing understanding on power rotation and offered a rare opportunity to deepen national balance.
“Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads,” Kwankwaso told delegates. “The world is undergoing a profound geopolitical shift, yet our nation has been caught unprepared, largely because of poor leadership. Instead of positioning Nigeria to seize emerging opportunities, bad governance has left us bearing the brunt of global changes.”
The former governor painted a grim picture of the nation’s current state, citing a sharp decline in quality of life, rising insecurity that has created widows and orphans, mass displacement, fleeing investments, neglected infrastructure, a collapsing education system, and harsh economic policies imposed without safety nets.
He then reached into Nigeria’s political history to argue that visionary alliances have often provided the way forward during the nation’s most challenging moments—citing the 1954 partnership between the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), the 1960 coalition between the NCNC and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) that secured independence, and the Second Republic alliance between Shehu Shagari and Alex Ekwueme under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
“It is therefore with a great sense of unity and solidarity that, as a loyal party member, I support the decision to zone the presidential ticket of the NDC to the South, so that it allows the region to complete its turn in producing national leadership,” Kwankwaso said.
“This represents a true opportunity for genuine national healing. We shall work in abidance with the party’s agreement to ensure fairness and federal character in all ramifications.”
He appealed to Nigerians and party faithful to remain engaged in the NDC’s mobilisation drive ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that the party’s chances would depend on discipline, loyalty and broad-based outreach.
The convention formally approved the zoning of the presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria for a single four-year term, after which the ticket will automatically return to the North. The motion was moved by Afam Victor Ogene, who represents Ogbaru Federal Constituency in Anambra State, and seconded by Seyi Sowunmi, also a member of the National Assembly.
The arrangement has opened the field for former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and other Southern aspirants, who may see the decision as a significant political boost.
Earlier at the convention, NDC National Chairman Senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe restated the party’s commitment to democracy, constitutional governance and national development.
Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC on Sunday, May 3, 2026, defecting from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). They were registered at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, where they were issued membership cards.
