Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has put an end to speculation about his Integrity Group, also known as the G5, reaching an agreement with the Peoples Democratic Party’s main body (PDP).
Recall that five disgruntled PDP governors (G5) have vowed not to support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambitions.
The G5 are opposed to Iyorchia Ayu, a Northerner, remaining as the PDP’s national chairman while Atiku, another Northerner, holds the party’s presidential ticket.
They demanded Ayu’s resignation so that a Southerner could take his place. Even as the 2023 general elections approach, all attempts to resolve the opposition party’s internal crisis have failed.
Speaking on the possibility of returning to the party’s main fold to support Atiku on February 25th, Wike said on Thursday morning that he is not ready to sit with any member of Atiku’s camp to broker peace between the G5 or the Integrity Group and the party’s national leadership led by Ayu.
Speaking at the media chat monitored by this news platform, the Rivers State Governor said, “No, we can’t do that; it’s over! We have said it and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. They believe they can win the election. I am not ready to sit down with anybody again.”
Wike said he owed no apologies for his meeting with the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, earlier on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
Governor Wike, Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi are among the G5 members (Enugu).
Wike reiterated that the group has its own strategies and “not all of us will do the talking. That others are quiet does not mean we are not together”.
“We know what all of us have agreed,” the governor noted but did not disclose which of the other 17 presidential candidates the group would support in next week’s election.