Politics
Peter Obi vs Tinubu: Presidential Candidate Wike, Others Are Backing Revealed
With barely eight days to the general election, the five aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), known as G-5, and members of the Integrity Group have started pitching their tents with their preferred presidential candidate.
The Publisher Nigeria reports that the G5 governors – Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) have been calling for the removal of Senator Iyorchia Ayu, as the national chairman of the party, as part of demands to back PDP’s Atiku Abubakar.
The G-5 and the PDP Integrity Group had said Ayu should resign his appointment since former Vice President Atiku emerged as the PDP presidential candidate, arguing that two key posts cannot come from the North.
While Wike, who had promised to name his preferred presidential candidate, has yet to make any such public announcement, it is becoming more apparent how and where the G-5 and other party leaders, who would instead back a southern president, stand as the election inches closer.
According to ThisDay, Wike appears to be leaning towards the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as his candidate, even though he has not publicly announced this.
Wike is not alone in the support drive for Tinubu, a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has also elected to back the former Lagos State governor.
On their part, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom; former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko; his Cross River State counterpart, Donald Duke; former Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Chief Bode George and former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, have enlisted support for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).
The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, have remained undecided on who to back despite the election only days away. In contrast, the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has returned to the candidate of his party, Atiku, whom he warmly received recently in the state for a presidential rally.
