Integrity Group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also known as the G5, has failed to reveal their presidential candidate for the February election as expected on Thursday.
Gatekeepers News reports that the five PDP Governors said they will never work for any opposition candidate in the presidential election but insisted that the party must do the needful before the general election.
The G5; Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu states are demanding the resignation/removal of the PDP National Chairman, Ayu, as a condition to return to the party’s presidential campaign fold.
They insisted that the PDP Presidential candidate and National Chairman cannot be from the same region as Wike has recently noted that he will announce and mobilise people “from state to state” for his preferred candidate from January.
While Wike and Makinde were said to have been disposed to Tinubu, Ortom was leaning towards Obi, whom he had openly endorsed.
Governors Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu were not ready to support Tinubu for fear of backlash since Obi, who is from the South East as them, is also on the ballot.
The two Southeastern Governors have not openly declared support for any of the candidates.
Wike, while speaking on Thursday at the flag-off campaign of Governor Makinde re-election bid in Ibadan, said Makinde will tell them who to vote for at the presidential polls.
He urged the Oyo citizens to re-elect Makinde who he described as a leader who had performed excellently.
He said, “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”.
On his part, Ortom declared that the group will work for the party’s candidate in their States but did not mention the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku. He said the group would work for all PDP candidates in this year’s general election.
According to Ortom, the G5 governors are committed members of the PDP and are working round the clock to ensure that the party wins all elections in their respective states.
He said the G5 governors and other members of the party working with them in the integrity group are “committed members of the PDP in their various states” and would work to ensure that candidates of the party in their states are elected in the forthcoming polls.
The Governor explained that the problem of the PDP at the national level is prolonged as a result of the failure of the leadership of the party to deploy its internal conflict resolution mechanisms to settle issues that arose after the national convention.
He hailed Makinde’s commitment to the development of Oyo State and expressed optimism that the people of the state would return him for a second term.
