Ahead 2023 presidential elections, speculations are rife that the five aggrieved governors within the Peoples Democratic Party, may finally decide to work for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, or the ruling All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
This comes as G-5 Governors also known and the Integrity Group, are currently in the United Kingdom to decide on who they will support.
The G-5 Governors are Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
They have been at daggers drawn with the leadership of the PDP insisting that the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu resign his position for a southerner.
Recall that the governors have since foreclosed working for the presidential candidate of their party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, since their demand was ignored.
A close source who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, said that the G-5 Governors are rooting for either the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, or the flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi as their preferred choice.
According to the source, the five governors will run campaigns for presidential and governorship elections together.
It added that they ought to streamline their position to be able to inform the electorate properly on where they are headed.
The source said,: “The London meeting is a wrap-up session on their preferred presidential candidate who will also be part of the campaign in their respective states.
“Before they left, the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was already out of their equation. Both Atiku’s running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, and Governor Emmanuel Udom did not succeed in prevailing on the G-5 to support the PDP candidate.
“They claimed that Okowa and Udom are parts of the problem in PDP because they refused to abide by the decision of the Southern governors on power shift to the South.
“They have drawn the battle lines with Atiku. They have foreclosed any reconciliation. They will now meet at the poll to settle political scores.
“The G-5 governors have to choose between Tinubu and Obi. They have to consider all options, including the consideration of who has the strength or figures to defeat Atiku in the presidential poll.
“It is no longer about sentiments, but facing the reality on whose figures can add up to win the poll for power shift to the South, which is their ultimate objective.”
The paper quoted another source saying, “The greatest fear of the G-5 governors is supporting a weak candidate who may lose the presidential election. Then, all their objective, plot and bragging will come to naught.
“Yet, they want to prove a point to PDP that they are a force to reckon with. If they fail to make an impact in 2023 poll, it will spell doom for their political career.
“As politicians, the G-5 governors have been closely monitoring the campaigns and political trends in the country. They will use available statistics at their disposal to determine whether or not to back Tinubu or Obi.”
It was learnt that the former President Olusegun Obasanjo has since asked three of the governors, who paid him a private visit, to work for Obi to give the Igbo a chance to lead the nation.
According to a close aide of one of the governors, “Obasanjo made the plea during a private session with Wike, Ortom and Makinde.”
“Some of the governors are not for Obi, but they are already aiding him with logistics, including free use of stadia for the campaign,” the aide added.
