G-5 Governors lose elections (Senatorial bid)
Three of the five aggrieved Governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who vowed to retire the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar politically may have experienced their own share of heartbreak.
Recall that governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and their leader, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, decided to support a presidential candidate from another party, abandoning Atiku’s campaign.
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The PDP leadership crisis began when Wilke was unable to secure the party’s nomination to run for president in May 2022.
Prior to the PDP primary election that produced the former vice president as the party’s candidate, Southern governors unanimously agreed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor must come from the South.
However, the PDP primary election did not favor Southerners, particularly Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike, as Atiku secured 371 votes to defeat him in the May 2022 primary election.
Wike and the other four governors demanded the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, because they were angered by the outcome of the primary election.
It would be unfair to the South, according to the governors, for the North to produce both the presidential candidate and the party chairman.
The refusal of Ayu to resign prompted the governors to support either Peter Obi of the Labour Party or Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the upcoming presidential election.
The G-5 held series of meetings with Tinubu in London to discuss how to reach an agreement prior to Saturday’s presidential election, but some of the governors were unable to reach a consensus.
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Although there was no official announcement, Wike, Makinde, and Ugwuanyi’s decision to support the APC candidate was crystal clear.
In contrast, Governor Ortom publicly endorsed the former governor of Anambra, stating that he was the best of the three major candidates.
Prior to the elections on Saturday, there were indications that Ikpeazu had changed his mind and decided to support Atiku, the PDP candidate.
Although Wike was not running for office, Ortom, Ugwuanyi, and Ikpeazu were vying for senatorial positions in their respective districts.
In Oyo State’s three senatorial districts, Makinde’s loyalists ran for Senate seats. Makinde, who is seeking a second term, is running for re-election.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have not been favoring the G-5 when announcing election results as Bnue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu lost their senatorial bid.
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