The Joint Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations (JACON) has rejected the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the south.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Kaduna, Sani Yaya, JOCON’s Director of media and public affairs, warned that the decision amounts to “political marginalisation” and will be met with a strong electoral backlash.
The group described the move as “anti-democratic” and a “betrayal of the North’s unwavering support” for the party since 1999.
Yaya said, “JACON has received with utter shock and profound dismay the anti-democratic and unjust decision by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , to zone its presidential candidacy for the 2027 elections exclusively to the Southern part of Nigeria, thereby blatantly excluding qualified Nigerians from the North from contesting.
“This decision is not only a grave affront to the principles of fairness and justice but also a monumental betrayal of the massive and unwavering support the North has given the PDP since the inception of the Fourth Republic.
“It is a reckless move that negates the very spirit of national unity and rotational equity which the party claims to uphold.”
The group maintained that the sixteen years, (from 1999 to 2015) that the PDP held power at the federal level was made possible by millions of votes consistently delivered to the party by the loyal Northern electorates.
It noted that under the PDP, the south ruled the country for 13 and a half years while the North rule for two and a half years.
“It is undeniable historical fact that out of these sixteen years of PDP rule, the North was only allowed to produce the President for an extremely short period of two and a half years. This is profoundly unjust.
“The South, under the PDP, held the presidency for a whopping thirteen and a half years.
“Therefore the move by the governors to zone the ticket back to the South in 2027 is a deliberate attempt to permanently sideline the North and deny it the opportunity to complete its rightful share of leadership within the party that it nourished with its votes”, the group argued.
It warned that “this calculated marginalization will not go unanswered”, as the north “can no longer continue to be the political beast of burden for a party that treats it as a second-class region, only useful for its votes but not deserving of its fair share of leadership.
The group said, “This decision is unfair, unjust, and undemocratic as it stifles competition and excludes a major section of the country from participation.”
It insisted that, “The only equitable path to justice is for the PDP to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the North.
“This is the only way to correct the existing imbalance and allow the North to complete the years of leadership that the South has already enjoyed under the PDP banner. “Fairness demands that the North be given an equal opportunity to lead.
“This act of political marginalization will have severe consequences.
“The message from the Northern youth is clear: we will mobilize our entire structures to ensure that this betrayal is met with an appropriate response at the polls.
“The PDP must not assume that the North’s support is unconditional or can be taken for granted”.
Yaya said further that the leadership of JACON will soon convene an emergency meeting of all its member associations to deliberate and work out comprehensive strategies on how to respond to the “injustice against the people of the Northern zone.”
The group also called on all stakeholders in the North to stand up against what it described as “the brazen act of exclusion.”
Northern group rejects PDP’s zoning of presidency to south
