In the build up to the general elections, a group of governors, later to be known as G5 governors emerged from the fold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The governors, comprising those of Rivers, Oyo, Abia, Enugu and Benue, Nyesom Wike; Seyi Makinde; Okezie Ikpeazu; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Samuel Ortom, respectively, were not satisfied with the outcome of the party primary which produced Atiku Abubakar as the flag bearer of the PDP.
Peace overtures at different levels within the party failed to yield any form of reconciliation for many months and while this lasted, there were speculations about which of the presidential candidate the governors will support.
While many hoped that the G5 governors will give their support to one of the top four presidential contestants, events of the last two weeks showed that even among the G%, beyond wearing uniform outfits, they were not united after all.
While Ortom declared his support for Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), Wike and Makinde were rooting and working for Bola Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC), while Ikpeazu and Ugwuanyi, who like Ortom were contesting senatorial seats, fell back to their party, PDP, even as they didn’t openly declare support for the party’s presidential candidate.
Not a few people wondered how three of the G5 governors who were contesting elections in the party in which they were at loggerheads with the leadership, would win their seats.
Ortom, however, said he was ready to lose his senatorial election to see Lp’s Obi win the presidential election.
How the G5 have fared so far
Ugwuanyi lost his senatorial ambition to the candidate of the Labour Party, Okechukwu Ezea.
According to the results of the election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), LP candidate, Ezea, defeated Ugwuanyi, to emerge Senator-elect for Enugu North Senatorial District, after polling a total of 104,492 votes to Ugwuanyi’s 46,948 votes.
Governor Ikpeazu has also crashed and won’t be retiring to the Senate.
At the end of the vote count in his Abia South Senatorial Zone, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe 49,693 to beat his closest rival, Chinedu Onyeizu of LP who got 43,903, while Ikpeazu came a distant third scoring 28,422
In Oyo, Governor Makinde, who is seeking re-election for a second term, appears to have delivered as Tinubu, who he was reportedly clandestinely working for, won the election in the state.
While Tinubu polled 449,884 to win the state, Atiku polled 182,977, Obi polled 99,110, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) polled 4,095 to come fourth.
In Benue, Ortom lost his senatorial bid to the candidate of the APC, Titus Zam.
Zam polled 143,141 votes, while Ortom got a total of 106,880 votes.
Wike also appears to be delivering good results for the APC as Tinubu has won in the majority of the local governments declared so far.
