3 Things that May Happen as G5 Governors Set to Make Final Decision ahead of 2023 Presidential Election
- The G5 governors are deliberating to take a final decision on the presidential candidate to support in the 2023 general election
- Amid the deliberations, there are strong speculations that they are weighing the options on who to pick between Tinubu and Peter Obi
- This report projects the three possible outcomes of the make or mar deliberations of the five aggrieved PDP governors
There are three possible outcomes as G5 Governors meet in the United Kingdom (UK) to take final decisions on who they will back in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election: consensus, division/crisis and liberty to go for individual choices.
With Iyorchia Ayu’s refusal to step down as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman for a southerner, G5 Governors appear to have made up their mind not to support the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
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Members of the G5 are Nyesom Wike (Rivers state), Seyi Makinde (Oyo state), Samuel Ortom (Benue state), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia state) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu state).
Having dumped Atiku, the five aggrieved PDP governors are meeting in the UK to finalise their decision ahead of January when they promised to unveil their anointed presidential candidate.
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An ally of Governor Wike cited by Daily Trust gave a hint about who the G5 Governors would support when he said their decision would be guided by the Asaba Declaration.
The main crux of the Asaba Declaration is the zoning of the presidency to the south. This implies that the G5 Governors will very likely back a southern presidential candidate in 2023.
Here is where the great dilemma comes: there are two leading southern presidential candidates in the 2023 polls; Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the southwest and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) from the southeast.
Thus the G5 Governors’ UK meeting may focus on who to support between Tinubu and Obi. In this crucial meeting, there are only three possible outcomes:
Consensus
Since opting out of Atiku’s campaign, the G5 Governors have largely remained united. So, they may be able to unanimously pick either Tinubu or Obi in 2023.
A report by The Punch also indicates that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged them to back Obi in a bid to ensure that a president of southeast extraction is elected in 2023.
Thus, Obasanjo’s stance may aid the PDP governors in taking a consensus position on supporting Obi.
Liberty to go for individual choices
Though they are united in their decision not to back Atiku, unfolding political developments have indicated that the G5 Governors are not united on who to back between Tinubu and Obi.
For instance, while the governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom, is backing Obi, the arrowhead of the group, Wike, appears to be tilting towards Tinubu.
If they fail to arrive at a consensus, the G5 Governors may decide to opt for individual choices. Below is a forecast of how the governors may stand if they go for this option:
- Nyesom Wike - Bola Tinubu
- Seyi Makinde - Bola Tinubu
- Samuel Ortom - Peter Obi
- Okezie Ikpeazu - Peter Obi
- Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi - Peter Obi
Division/crisis
As united as the G5 Governors may be, the choice of who to back between Tinubu and Obi (or whether to reconcile with Atiku) may tear them apart if care is not taken.
However, understanding that their division will expose them to ridicule, especially from Atiku’s camp and whittle down their political influence, the governors will do all they can to ensure they are not torn apart in their bid to pick a preferred candidate.
It’s a good one for our democracy, APC chieftain speaks on G5 Governors' move
Speaking with Legit.ng, Obidike Chukwuebuka, an APC chieftain, said the move by the G5 Governors is good for the country's democracy.
It’s a good one for our democracy as everybody has the right to meet or negotiate or plan ahead of 2023. After all, it is for the betterment of the entire country Nigeria," Obidike said.
He also noted that if the G5 Governors endorse Tinubu, it will make make the job of the APC campaign team easier.
"It’s a welcome development, it’ll make the fight easier for us. It’s indeed a plus not a minus in politics," Obidike said.
Obidike, who is a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Contact & Mobilization, however, expressed confidence that Tinubu will win, with or without the support of the G5 Governors.
"But with or without the G5 Governors, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our presidential candidate is still the leading candidate," he added.
Asked whether the ruling APC needs the PDP governors' support to win the 2023 presidential election, the APC chieftain said:
"No! We don’t need their support to win election. It’s not a need. We can do without them, they were not in APC in 2015 when APC won the presidential election.
"The G5 governors were not in APC when APC won the 2019 presidential election but if by any means they decide to endorse our presidential candidate, it’s still a win win for us. That’s it."
Why G5 Governors may endorse Tinubu, another APC chieftain speaks
Also commenting on the development, Jamiu Julius Adebayo, an ardent supporter of Tinubu, spoke on why the G5 Governors may pitch their tent with the APC presidential candidate.
Adebayo said the arrowhead of the G5 Governors, Wike, "has said in so many fora that he's got nothing but deep respect for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu."
"Aside the declarations by the Southern Governors Forum for power shift to the south, Asiwaju represents a rallying figure in whom every nationality, religion and society can look up for justice and equity," he told Legit.ng.
"Most of the G5 governors are not supporting Atiku because they don't believe in his capacity to unite Nigeria if he cannot unite his party, the PDP," Adebayo said.
Why we can't predict the outcome of the G5 Governors' resolutions - Kingdom
Meanwhile, Ogoegbunam Kingdom, a youth and women development advocate, said the G5 Governors' decision not to endorse Atiku is a welcome idea.
"It is welcoming in the sense that Nigeria being a diverse and multicultural society to maintain peace and stability must continue to respect zoning and its conventions in rotational Presidency between the North and the South.
"These issues cannot be ignored and must be strictly respected by both regions to ensure the continuity of this marriage between the Northern Nigeria and the Southern Nigeria as adopted during the Asaba Declaration."
On the PDP governors' endorsement, Mr Kingdom, who is the executive director of the Platform for Youth and Women Development, noted that Governor Wike has made it clear the group will unveil its preferred candidate in January.
"Although Governor Ortom has openly declared support for Peter Obi, we cannot preempt or predict the outcome of the G5 resolutions because a lot of factors will be considered," he said.
Such factors will include structures, win-ability, equity and government of national unity, Mr Kingdom said.
Peter Obi will likely need support of G5 Governors
The youth and women development advocate added that the LP flag bearer, will likely need the support of the G5 Governors, "although his campaign is organic."
He added that it is a plus to the campaign of any of the candidates who secures the support of the G5 Governors.
Source: Legit.ng
