One set of people that shocked Nigerians ahead of the February 25 presidential election, is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Group of Five (G5).
The G5 governors comprising Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, did not immediately reveal who they were supporting for the presidency.
When they eventually did, Wike chose to support Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Samuel Ortom on the other hand, pledged his support for Peter Obi of the Labour Party, over Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
Over a week after Mr Tinubu was declared as president-elect, Governor Wike came out ‘clean’, telling Nigerians why he did not and still does not support Mr Obi.
Why Wike Supports Tinubu
Many had expected Wike to pull the ‘tribe card’ (South, before South-south) and support Obi but he chose not to because he says nobody discussed the Igbo presidency with him.
The publicity secretary of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Alex Ogbonnia, stated that Mr Wike made the declaration at a meeting the socio-political group had with him in Port Harcourt.
Have You Read: Lagos Pension Payment Not For Vote Buying – Sanwo-Olu
Mr Ogbonnia stated that at the meeting, Ohaneze Ndigbo confronted Mr Wike over his alleged role against Mr Obi during the presidential election.
He stated that the Rivers governor expressed surprise that Ohanaeze was on a fact-finding mission and would explain his role in the presidential election.
‘I Deserve To Rule’
Before the primaries of the People Democratic Party Governor Wike was positioning himself for the presidency.
This position he stated again, claiming the south should he in focus.
Explaining his role and reason for sponsoring Tinubu in the presidential election, Mr Wike said the South deserves to rule.
Wike explained that the Southern Governors Forum first met at Asaba and agreed that power must shift to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari.
He further explained that the governors later met in Enugu in September 2021 to reaffirm their position for power to shift to the South.
He stated that throughout the meetings, “the issue of the presidency to the South-East was never on the table.’’
Party Primary Election
Mr Wike explained that throughout his political adventure, he tried as much as possible to maintain the position of the southern governors.
You Should Read: NDLEA 2023 Recruitment: See Details And How To Apply
He however expressed disgust that during the PDP presidential primary, several well-known people from the South-East betrayed him and sabotaged the southern interest by voting for Atiku, a northerner.
He added that his unalloyed commitment to the South motivated him “to provide logistics for Mr Obi when he was in Rivers for the presidential campaign.”
Mr Wike noted that he refused to provide even a campaign ground for Aiku, the residential candidate of his political party.
