According to saturday punchthe G5 that includes governors, wike nyesom from Rivers State, who is the team leader; samuel ortom from Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi from Enugu State, Okezie Ikpeazu from the state of Abia and Seyi Makinde from Oyo State, have yet to agree on the presidential candidate to support with less than 60 days to go until the election.
The group had embarked on a trip to London earlier in the week amid speculation they would hold a series of meetings before reaching a decision on whom to back among the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidates. Asiwaju Ball Tinubuand the Labor Party Pedro Obi.
However, reports indicate that the aggrieved governors failed to reach a consensus on the matter.
The sources confirmed to the newspaper that the respective ambitions and interests of the G5 and its enlarged Integrity Group, which comprises some former governors and party bigwigs, had become the main impediments to agreeing a unanimous position.
Makinde’s re-election bid as governor on the DPP platform, as well as the quests by Ortom, Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu for senatorial seats in their respective districts have become thorny issues that require a low-key approach by the G5.
Wike, the most vocal among them, is not running for office in the upcoming election, despite the fact that the PPD gubernatorial candidate in Rivers is his preferred choice and the governor has been campaigning for him.
It followed that the group, after their meeting with Tinubu in London, decided not to openly campaign for any presidential candidate, including Atiku, so as not to jeopardize their chances in the elections.
The words of the source: “Many people know that former President Olusegun Obasanjo sold them Peter Obi’s candidacy. He wants governors to back the former governor of Anambra State. Some initially accepted the former president’s suggestion out of respect for him.
“However, it was clear that Obi might not win the election, so the governors realized the reality and discussed it, but did not take a position.
“They also know that the APC presidential candidate sent emissaries to the governors before meeting them personally. He had negotiated with them, especially with Wike. But the other governors fear that such a negotiation could work against them in their states.
“The APC and its presidential candidate are not very popular in the southeast. In fact, the people of the area are angry because of some comments that the APC vice-presidential candidate (Kashim Shettima) would have made some time ago. This was the reason why people abandoned it in Imo state when party members went there for consultation..”
