As the G5 Governors look set to arrive at a final decision on which of the presidential candidates to support in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, speculations are rife that Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, is top on their list.
Sources close to the group told BusinessDay on Wednesday that the LP candidate may have “won the heart of the governors because of his capacity, age and performance on the NOI polls so far.”
The G5 Governors led by Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, has Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
The governors had travelled out of the country to London on Monday for what is considered a “strategic meeting” ahead of their plans to unveil who the group will back in the February presidential election.
A source close to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, told BusinessDay in Abuja that the decision to endorse Peter Obi may not be unconnected with his “ability to engage with people of all tribes and the capacity he has demonstrated so far.”
The source, who refused to have his names in print, stated that Peter Obi used the visit to Benue to woo Ortom to support him.
“As you are aware, Obi was here in Benue last week and my governor, Samuel Ortom received him and we the people of this state are very happy because of his love for the common man.”
“I will not be surprised if they endorse him. They may have looked at the fact that he has capacity, age is on his side; his commitment to the Nigerian project is genuine. He has shown that he is selfless and he is loved by both the young and the elderly. So, these may have informed their decision. Above all, if you have followed the pre- election polls so far, he is ahead of other candidates.”
Obi had paid a visit to the camp of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), a move that was highly applauded by the Benue State government.
Ortom had noted that “none of the presidential candidates that came to Benue visited the IDPs camps to look at the plights of the people and give them hope.”
“For you to have chosen to visit the IDPs on a Christmas Day when you should be celebrating with your family, for me as a Christian, I say God will bless you and your aspirations. My prayer is that God will bless your aspiration to be the president of this country.
“Because I have seen capacity, faith, and hope, and I have seen someone who can bring the required equity, justice, and fairness that I have been pursuing since I became governor in 2015.”
Read also: PDP crisis: We stand on Port Harcourt accord, say G5 governors
The G5 Governors, who are expected back in the country on Friday, December 30, will make their decision public early next year.
The media adviser to the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Ike Abonyi, while also speaking to BusinessDay on the issue, however, noted that “the endorsement remains in the realm of speculations.”
“Until we hear from them, whatever you are hearing now is still in the realm of speculation. These are all permutations. From January they are going to come out.
“The truth is that as it stands now, it would be suicidal for anyone in the south-south or southeast to endorse anybody outside of Peter Obi.”
Abonyi noted that the governors were weighing all options, adding that they will go for whoever is ready to protect their interest.
“They are weighing all options and making demands from everyone that they are romancing with. So, if they do not want to support Atiku Abubakar, as they have vowed not to, the only option available will be Peter Obi.
The G5 Governors who are all members of the People Democratic Party (PDP) had earlier vowed not to support the candidate of their party, unless the national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu resigns from his position to create a room for a southerner.
BusinessDay gathered that the group had favoured a former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko as Ayu’s replacement as the PDP national chairman.
They had argued that Ayu’s continued stay as chairman violates Article 7(2)(c) of the party which dwells on power sharing between the north and south.
The G5 Governors argue that it was morally wrong for both the party’s presidential candidate and the national chairman to come from the same region, in violation of the party’s constitution.
