Since Atiku Abubakar won the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in May 2022, he’s known no peace from people within his own party. A group of PDP governors known as the G5 has been pressing his neck frustrating his sixth attempt to become Nigeria’s president.
The G5 recently visited party chieftain, Bode George, in Lagos State in a bid to resolve the conflict within the party just three months to the 2023 presidential election. Here are the key takeaways from the meeting:
- The G5 members had a “naming ceremony” and decided to call themselves the “Integrity Group”.
- They’re now open to “reconciliation talks” to resolve all conflicts in the party.
But, who exactly are these G5 members?
[Source: Vanguard]
Nyesom Wike — Rivers State
[Source: Vanguard]
If we’re talking about PDP OGs, Wike is definitely one of them, which is why it’s not a surprise he’s the G5’s ringleader.
He began his political career as the executive chairman of Obio Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers in 1999. In 2007, he was appointed the chief of staff to the governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi.
In July 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed him as the Minister of State for Education and promoted him to Minister of Education in September 2013. He then stepped down as a minister to contest and win the 2015 governorship election in Rivers State.
With his second term as governor ending in 2023, he contested for the PDP’s presidential ticket but lost to Atiku. After his loss, Wike has been on a rampage and has done everything in his power to fight the man who denied him the ultimate prize.
Wike has also been pushing for the resignation of Iyiorcha Ayu, as he believes the party’s national chairman shouldn’t be from the same region as the presidential candidate. He’s also made numerous allegations against the chairman to force his resignation. It’s been an endless battle, and we can only wonder if these reconciliation talks will be for good this time.
Seyi Makinde — Oyo State
[Source: Punch]
Popular opinion on Twitter says that Seyi Makinde is the “best governor in Nigeria” but what makes him tick? Makinde, unlike Wike, hasn’t always been a member of the PDP. He first contested in a senatorial election as a candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007 but lost. He joined the PDP in 2010 to contest the Oyo South senatorial district a second time and lost again.
But if there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that Makinde never says never. He lost the PDP’s Oyo governorship ticket in 2014, and moved to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to contest the 2015 governorship election, which he lost before he returned to the PDP to win the 2019 governorship election.
Since then, there have been notable achievements in his career as governor, from renovating 299 primary healthcare centers to regular pension payments for civil service workers in Oyo State.
With the 2023 elections, however, Makinde seems to be switching to the other side of the fence again, as he’s been seen to be supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu. Even Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, has met Makinde for consultations, which raises many questions.
Samuel Ortom — Benue State
[Source: Vanguard]
Interestingly, Ortom won his first term as Benue State governor in 2015 as a member of the APC. However, he switched camps to the PDP in 2018 due to an “internal crisis” and won re-election in 2019. Ortom’s reign hasn’t had so much of a smooth run, and has been tainted by communal crises that have claimed thousands of lives.
He’s one of the G5’s loudest voices against Atiku and recently clashed with the candidate over his stance on the Fulani herdsmen blamed for attacks in Benue. He also believes a southerner should be president, which is possibly why he went all the way to Labour Party to give his support to Obi instead.
Okezie Ikpeazu — Abia State
[Source: Vanguard]
Ikpeazu isn’t an alien to controversy as he was accused of submitting false information to the PDP during the 2015 elections and was sacked as governor. However, he appealed the court ruling and won, and he was even successful in running for a second term.
Since then, he has been accused of siphoning government funds to his own personal companies and has been flagged by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as the state with the highest number of unpaid salaries.
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi — Enugu State
[Source: Premium Times]
If the G5 was a secondary school classroom, Ugwuanyi would be the quiet boy sitting in front.
Once a member of the House of Representatives in 2003, he’s serving his second term as the governor of Enugu State since his first victory in 2015. He’s known for the rehabilitation of key roads in Enugu, including internal roads in Nsukka and Achi.
