Opinion Writer Accuses Peter Obi of Double Standards on Zoning

Opinion Writer Accuses Peter Obi of Double Standards on Zoning Over Support for Jonathan in 2011, 2015

ABUJA— Columnist Mohammed Bello Doka has accused NDC leader Peter Obi of political inconsistency over his current support for zoning, citing Obi’s role in the campaigns of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 and 2015.

In an opinion piece published on May 12, 2026, Doka argued that Obi actively campaigned for Jonathan at a time when the South had held the presidency for about 14 years in the Fourth Republic, while the North had held it for under three years.

Doka noted that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, from the South, served from 1999 to 2007. Umaru Yar’Adua, from the North, served from May 2007 until his death in May 2010. Jonathan, also from the South, completed Yar’Adua’s term and contested the 2011 election.

The writer said Obi, then governor of Anambra State and chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, publicly endorsed Jonathan in 2011. In 2015, Obi served as Deputy Director General (South) of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation.

“Zoning was conveniently ignored and dumped when it favored the South and disadvantaged the North,” Doka wrote. “Today, the same voices suddenly resurrect zoning as an unbreakable moral imperative — especially now that it could benefit Peter Obi.”

He also criticized Obi’s current political partner, Rabiu Kwankwaso, saying Kwankwaso’s support for zoning the 2027 presidential ticket to the South and his offer to serve as Obi’s running mate was driven by personal ambition.

The piece comes amid ongoing debate in Nigeria’s political parties over zoning and rotation of the presidency ahead of the 2027 general elections. The PDP’s zoning arrangement was a contested issue in the lead-up to the 2011 polls, with some northern leaders arguing the ticket should remain in the North until 2015.

Obi and Kwankwaso have not publicly responded to the claims.

Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via bellodoka82@gmail.com.

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