President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday met with members of the ‘G5 governors’ of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that worked against their party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 Presidential election. He met with the members of G5 or the Integrity Group at the Aso Villa, Abuja.
It was also recorded that Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, was also at the meeting with the G5 group.
The G5 group is made up of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, Former Governor Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
The group, led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, caused a major division within the PDP after demanding the then National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, step down for a southern replacement as a precondition to support the presidential ambition of the party’s flag bearer in the February 25 poll.
Both Atiku and Ayu called the then governors’ bluff and did not succumb to their demands in the just-concluded elections.
Makinde and Wike reportedly played supportive roles to ensure Tinubu’s victory at the polls, while Ortom backed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi.
