Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said Nigeria would have plunged into political turmoil if the G5 governors had not opposed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its 2023 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking on Monday during a meeting with members of the “Concerned Stakeholders of the PDP” from across the 36 states and the FCT, Wike defended the G5’s controversial stance in the lead-up to the 2023 election.
The G5 group—led by Wike and made up of former Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu)—rejected Atiku’s candidacy on the grounds of equity, insisting that the presidency should have been zoned to the South.
Their refusal to back the PDP’s flagbearer weakened the party’s chances at the polls and ultimately tilted their support toward APC candidate Bola Tinubu, a southerner, who went on to win the presidency.
Despite the backlash, Wike stood by the group’s decision, saying, “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.
Wike urged PDP leaders to stop playing politics with arrogance and advised that reconciliation should take precedence over ego and greed.
“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 our party,” he cautioned.
He also expressed confidence that the PDP could still bounce back from its internal strife and reclaim its strength nationally.
Present at the meeting were former Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Samuel Ortom, and Okezie Ikpeazu, alongside PDP National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Philip Aduda.
