Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State was conspicuously absent at the presidential campaign rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
The PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, and other leaders of the party were in Enugu on Tuesday for the campaign rally ahead of the 25 February poll.
Although the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Cecelia Ezeilo, attended the rally, she did not say if she was representing the governor at the event.
Besides Mrs Ezeilo, members of the State Working Committee of the party, the senator representing Enugu North District, Chukwuka Utazi, and the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Toby Okechukwu, were all in attendance.
Others were the Speaker of the Enugu House of Assembly, Edward Ubosi, and the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Peter Mbah, who was given the party’s flag during the rally.
Governor Ugwuanyi’s absence at the rally has been linked to the ongoing rift between the G5 governors and the PDP national leadership.
The G5, a group of aggrieved PDP governors, is being led by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
The governors are aggrieved with the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku and the party’s national leadership.
Apart from Messrs Wike and Ugwunayi, other members of the group include Governor Samuel Ortom (Benue), Governor Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State) and their Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde.
The group came about after the PDP presidential primary, where Nigeria’s former vice president, Mr Atiku, defeated Mr Wike and others to become the party’s presidential candidate.
The group has been demanding the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to pave the way for a southerner to lead the party in order to achieve a “regional balance”.
The governors’ argument is that Messrs Ayu and Atiku hail from northern Nigeria.
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