The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Integrity Group, better known as the G-5, failed to announce their presidential candidate for the February poll yesterday as was expected.
The G-5, which consists of Governors Nyesom Wike of the Rivers State, Okezie Ikpeazu of the Abia State, Samuel Ortom of the Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the Enugu State, and Seyi Makinde of the Oyo State, were supposed to announce their preferred presidential candidate on January 5, 2023 in Ibadan, the capital of the Oyo State, during Makinde’second term campaign but they were unable to do so, adding credence to rumours that the governors had not yet decided on a candidate to back.
The governors had just returned from a trip to London where it was reported that they had debated which of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party should support (LP).
The five PDP governors declared that they would never support a presidential candidate running against them, but they asked that the party take the necessary action before the general election.
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The G-5 governors agreed not to support Atiku’s presidential campaign unless the PDP national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, a northerner, is replaced with a southerner for geopolitical balancing.
Wike, the head of the G5 governors, told a large crowd at the launch of Governor Seyi Makinde’s re-election campaign in Ibadan that Makinde will tell them who to vote for in the presidential race.
He urged Oyo residents to re-elect Makinde, whom he characterised as a good leader.
“Vote for Governor Seyi Makinde, vote for all senatorial candidates, vote for all House of Assembly candidates, but the other one, Seyi will tell you”.
In addition, Ortom stated that the group will support the party’s candidate in their respective states.
According to Ortom, the G5 governors are dedicated PDP members who work tirelessly to guarantee the party wins all elections in their respective states, but he did not name the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. He stated that the organisation would support all PDP candidates in the upcoming general election.
As “dedicated members of the PDP in their respective states,” the G5 governors and other party members working with them in the integrity group, according to him, would fight to ensure that party candidates in their states were elected in the upcoming elections.
The governor said that the PDP’s national issue has persisted because the party’s leadership did not use its internal dispute resolution processes to resolve problems that emerged following the national convention.
He praised Makinde’s dedication to Oyo State’s development and expressed confidence that the residents of the state will elect him to a second term.
While stating that the group would never support an opposition candidate in the presidential race, Governor Seyi Makinde stressed that the party need to take the necessary action before the general election.
