Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said that the decision and activities of the G5 governors stabilise Nigeria after the 2023 election.
During the build-up to the 2023 election, the Wike-led G5, comprising five seating governors, refused to work for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The group, led by Wike, comprised Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Uguanyi of Enugu State.
The governors’ grievance, predicated on the North-South zoning arrangement, hampered PDP chances as the group insisted that the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 election should have emerged from the South instead of Atiku, who is a northerner.
The G5 activities contributed to the party’s defeat as Wike and his colleagues openly worked against the PDP and backed Bola Tinubu, a southerner and candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
However, while addressing PDP members under the aegis of “Concerned Stakeholders of the PDP” from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT on Monday, Wike said the activities of the G5 governors in 2023 saved Nigeria from descending into crisis.
Wike said the G5 does not regret its action even though the opponent of their party’s candidate was the beneficiary of the group’s decision.
He said, “You may like us, you may hate us; the truth is if G5 did not take our decision, this country would have been in crisis.
“It doesn’t matter who the beneficiary was, but the right thing had to be done, and we still stand by that decision.
“We have continued to emphasise that the party’s constitution and that of the country should be respected.
“If the party had listened to what we said, we wouldn’t have been where we are today,” he said.
He, therefore, advised PDP leaders to stop acting with impunity.
“Ours is to continue to pacify people and bring them together and desist from saying that they should go to hell.
“Let us not allow greed; let us not allow ego to kill out party,” he advised.
He also expressed optimism that the PDP would survive its current adversity.
Some of the PDP stakeholders at the meeting included former Gov. Ifeanyi Uguanyi of Enugu, former Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue and former Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia.
Also at the meeting were the National Secretary of the PDP, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu and former Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Philip Aduda.
VANGUARD.
