London meeting: G-5 governors demand complex conditions before supporting Tinubu

Ilesanmi AdekanbiDecember 30, 2022

6 minutes read

The G-5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have demanded complex conditions before supporting the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

The G-5 governors led by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State demanded the support of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, for the PDP governorship and senatorial candidates in their respective states.

Recall that Governor Wike has been leading a team of five aggrieved governors of the PDP, known as the G-5, against the presidential candidate of their party, Atiku Abubakar.

The crisis started immediately after Wike lost the PDP presidential primary election to Atiku.

The Rivers governor has since then requested the resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, for being a northerner like Atiku.

Wike and the other four aggrieved PDP governors said it would be unfair to the South that the presidential candidate of the party and its national chairman are both from the North.

Since then, efforts to placate the governors to support Atiku have been abortive, as they threatened to work for another presidential candidate from the South, starting from January 2023.

Newsflash Nigeria learnt that the G-5 governors travelled to the United Kingdom on Monday for another strategic meeting.

According to the Punch Newspaper, the G-5 governors demanded the support of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, for the PDP governorship and senatorial candidates in their respective states.

The report gathered on Thursday that this was part of the conditions presented to Tinubu during his meeting with the PDP governors in London, United Kingdom, on Tuesday.

In attendance at the meeting were Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu states.

The governors alongside Donald Duke, Jonah Jang, Olusegun Mimiko, former governors of Cross River, Ondo and Plateau states, respectively, as well as a Board of Trustees member, Chief Bode George, are defiant in their call for the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as the national chairman of the party.

A reliable source disclosed that the five governors were concerned about their political careers and sought assurances from Tinubu.

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Though Wike is not contesting for any position in the 2023 elections, he was said to be concerned about his protégé, Siminalayi Fubara, who is the Rivers State PDP governorship candidate and their PDP senatorial candidates in the state.

On the other hand, Makinde is running for a second term while Ortom will be contesting as the Benue North-West Senatorial District candidate in the polls.

Also, Ikpeazu is the PDP candidate for Abia South Senatorial District and Ugwuanyi is running for the Enugu North Senatorial District.

However, there are different accounts of the final decisions of both the governors and Tinubu on the demand.

A source close to Tinubu said that a final agreement could not be reached as a result of the ‘complex demands’ by the governors, the Punch reports.

According to him, the PDP governors made an overture to Tinubu to guarantee both the senatorial and governorship seats in their states, a demand the former Lagos State governor could not grant immediately as he needed to consult with his advisers and loyalists.

The APC chieftain confided in our correspondent that Tinubu may not be willing to concede to the demand with less than two months to the 2023 elections.

He said, “The G-5 governors do not hold the four aces. As it stands, they are actually seeking shelter. The major hitch we have is that all the members of the G-5 demanded the governorship and senatorial seats in exchange for the big prize.

“Now, the question is, how are going to throw our people in Rivers, Plateau and Benue under the bus? I am worried about Benue, where we have low-hanging fruits. Of course, it is obvious we are set to win Benue with Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, who we are sure will sweep the governorship poll.

Makinde’s issue

“There is also the APC governorship candidate (Teslim) Folarin who is prominent in Oyo. These are complex situations we are still grappling with and I can tell you that is where we are. The PDP governors are astute people who are very good in politics.’’

The source also noted that there were increasing pressures on the APC presidential candidate to call the bluff of the Integrity Group by not conceding any positions to them.

Except for Rivers, the party chieftain said it had been projected that Benue and Oyo would fall because of the volume of mobilisation campaigns that had been carried out in the two states.

“Whether Makinde likes it or not, Oyo will fall. Abia has never been our ground. We also lost in Enugu and Benue in 2019 where we failed to get 25 per cent. Yet, we still won the presidency.

“I can tell you without Ortom, we have a very good chance of winning Benue in 2023 with Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia. But we know Rivers State is where we are very vulnerable and may need Wike to push up. These are the five states that we lost yet won the presidential election in 2019.

“The truth, however, remains that Asiwaju knows that these five states are not the tipping points to win. It is just to make his victory double sure that we have to pitch tent with them. But as I told you, they are not in a position to stamp their feet, draw the line and impose conditions on Asiwaju. Their support is inevitable because these governors really have nowhere else to go,” he said confidently.

On whether there is a chance Tinubu might meet the group again in January before they announce their preferred candidate, the politician disclosed that the negotiation had not ended.

Tinubu’s plan

He said, “It is an ongoing conversation. The point is that Asiwaju must carry the people (candidates) within those states along with our internal structures. Asiwaju must consider these factors before opting for a pyrrhic victory. He will talk to other leaders of our party.”

But a source in the PDP governors’ camp confirmed the demand they placed before Tinubu. He, however, said that a decision had been taken regarding the governors’ support for the APC standard bearer.

“Agreements have been reached and decisions have been taken. The announcement will be made in January. The people will be informed on the decisions that have been made,” he said.

On his part, the Media Director of the Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council, Bayo Onanuga, declined comments on the issue.

Onanuga stated that aside from knowing that the governors were backing his principal, he had no idea about their alleged conditions.

“I don’t want to speculate on this issue. I don’t know what was discussed. But I know that the G-5 governors are backing Bola Tinubu. I can’t go further than that.

“After all, the governors said they will announce their preferred candidate in January. Why not wait for them?” he stated.

‘Govs’ offer positive’

Also, a presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, in a tweet on Thursday, stated, “The offer put forward by the five governors was fantastically positive. That will definitely help us seal our victory. Let us do it together.”

The spokesman for the Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council, Festus Keyamo, also shied away from discussing the G-5 demands.

Instead, he blamed the leadership of the PDP for the woes in the party.

Keyamo disclosed that he had always known long before now that collapsing the zoning process to accommodate the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would lead to the implosion of the party.

Govs will be sanctioned if … – PDP

The PDP said yesterday it will not hesitate to bring the full weight of its constitution to bear on any member that goes contrary to its laid down rules and regulations no matter how highly placed.

Reacting to the romance of the governors with Tinubu and Obi, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told Daily Trust that the party will not spare any member that violates the constitution of the party.

Ologunagba disclosed that everything was still in the realm of speculation but if anything untoward happens, the PDP is a “Party that deals with rules and laws, we have our organs and processes and we follow our rules. The party takes action after due consideration of all the issues.

“So when those things happen, the constitution of the party will deal with them. We are a party that is very organised, united and concerned about the elections and Nigerian people, but that does not mean that if anybody, no matter how highly placed, goes contrary to the provision of the constitution of the party, the constitution will not kick in.”