Senator Iyorchia Ayu, National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has revealed that one of the party’s five disgruntled governors is abandoning Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike’s G5 group ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Ayu claimed on Monday that Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu visited him two days ago and that they had resolved their conflict.
WITHIN NIGERIA understands that the PDP national chairman revealed this while courting Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, a member of the G-5, to back the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
According to him, Ortom now has nowhere else to go and should return to the PDP’s main factions ahead of the upcoming elections.
The G5, also known as the Integrity Group, is comprised of Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Oyo) (Enugu).
The disgruntled governors have been at odds with the PDP national leader and have threatened to boycott the party’s presidential candidate until Ayu resigns.
However, speaking to a crowd of supporters on Monday during the PDP Presidential Campaign in Makurdi, Benue State’s capital, Ayu begged Ortom to return to the PDP main fold so that the party could be rebuilt.
He said:
I’m appealing to my younger brother, Governor Samuel Ortom, to come back to the party so we can rebuild the party. Ortom has nowhere to go.
Ayu emphasized that Ikpeazu paid him a visit after his preferred governorship aspirant lost his bid in a rerun primary election held after the candidate Ikpeazu preferred as his successor died.
We have resolved the problem with Governor Ikpeazu, and he is coming back. Two days ago, he was in my house because his candidate lost the primary, Ayu said.
Ayu admonished party supporters to vote for all PDP candidates in the forthcoming election, stressing that the only messiah is the PDP candidate, Atiku.
One week is enough for us as a party to resolve our problems, Ayu said.
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