Five aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are reportedly set to meet with the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to finalise the deal on the 2023 presidency.
A reliable source close to the former Lagos State governor, said barring any last-minute change, the meeting will be held in one of the European countries this week.
The source, who refused to give the exact date of the meeting, however, said it is being conveyed to firm-up their deal on the 2023 presidency with the governors. He said the G-5 governors, comprising Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), would after the meeting make their preferred presidential candidate known to the public.
Recall that arising from the presidential primaries of the PDP that produced former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, as the party’s presidential candidate, there has been a crisis rocking the leading opposition party.
The nomination of the Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as the vice-presidential candidate ballooned the internal wrangling, with the five governors calling for the head of the party’s National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu. Several efforts by the various organs of the party to pacify the governors have hit the rock.
Efforts to get the reaction of the aggrieved governors yielded no results, as the spokesperson for Wike, Kelvin Ebiri, and Makindes Taiwo Adisa did not answer their calls at the time of filing this report. However, it could be recalled that Wike had on Thursday said he would disclose his preferred presidential candidate in January 2023.
Also, recall that in October, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, while speaking through his deputy, Bayo Lawal, endorsed the candidature of Tinubu. Similarly, Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom had in November said he would not support Atikus presidential bid. In May last year, the 17 governors, who are from the Southern part of the country met in Asaba, Delta State, where they made a 12-point declaration, including the zoning of the presidency to the South.
A source in Atikus camp had earlier pointed out that the five governors are against the former vice president, because they want to actualise the southern presidency”.
In response to the recent development, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, said all agreements with the five governors would be respected.
