Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has firmly declared that the party will not field a presidential candidate from the North in the 2027 elections.

Speaking during a meeting of the Lagos State chapter of the PDP on Thursday, where party faithful gathered to celebrate what they called the party’s “restoration,” George insisted that doing otherwise would dishonor the party’s founding fathers.

“There is no chance that our party will have somebody from the North in 2027. That would be insulting to the founding fathers of the PDP, many of whom have passed on,” George said.

He criticized those trying to undermine the PDP’s zoning arrangement, warning that they were disrespecting the memory of party icons like the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme.

“Ekwueme once contested for our party’s ticket and lost, but he didn’t collapse the party. That’s what a God-fearing leader does,” he noted.

George also expressed sadness over the wave of defections rocking the PDP, accusing President Bola Tinubu of using his influence to lure PDP governors into joining the All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, he dismissed recent moves by some PDP members to form coalitions aimed at defeating Tinubu, describing them as “rolling stones that gather no moss.”

“These people who’ve left PDP to form coalitions are like people abandoning their father’s house because it’s leaking, only to live as tenants elsewhere,” George quipped.

He predicted that many who defected would eventually find their way back to the PDP after realizing their efforts were fruitless.

George’s comments highlight the brewing internal debates over zoning and strategy in Nigeria’s main opposition party as the country inches closer to the 2027 polls.