Choosing Atiku in 2023 Was a Miscalculation by PDP — Moro

Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, has acknowledged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blundered by presenting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate in the 2023 general election.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Moro explained that the party’s decision to abandon its traditional zoning arrangement in 2022 and instead put forward a northern candidate to succeed another northerner worked against it at the polls.

“In trying to reclaim power from the APC, we threw open the contest. But that approach backfired because many Nigerians were uncomfortable with the idea of a northern president handing over to another northerner,” he said. “That was one of the reasons we lost.”

According to Moro, the election result was a clear message from Nigerians that the PDP’s choice was unpopular. He added that the party has since carried out internal reviews and accepted responsibility for the miscalculation.

“Looking back, the consensus among us now is that it was an error. That’s why, moving forward, we’ve agreed to prioritize fairness and equity. In that spirit, our leaders resolved that the presidential ticket should go to the South,” he said.

The senator described the loss as a painful setback for the PDP, stressing that it came at great political cost. “We lost a monumental election in a disastrous fashion,” Moro admitted.

His comments come on the heels of the PDP’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South — a move the party says is aimed at restoring balance, healing divisions, and presenting a stronger front ahead of the next polls.