IT’S OVER! Wike forecloses truce between PDP G5, Atiku ahead of elections

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on Thursday ruled out any last-minute agreement or truce between the G5 and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar with just a few days left before the February 25 presidential election.

The governor added that he was not prepared to sit down with any Atiku supporter to mediate a settlement between the G5 or the Integrity Group and the party’s national leadership, which is led by Iyorchia Ayu.

In a media interview on Thursday morning, Wike added that he owes no one an apology for having Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, stay with him in Port Harcourt following the latter’s rally in the state on Wednesday.

Asked about the possibility of a last-minute deal with Atiku, Wike said, “No, we can’t do that; it’s over! We have said it and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. They believe they can win the election. I am not ready to sit down with anybody again.”

The governor further noted that the group has its own strategies and “not all of us will do the talking. That others are quiet does not mean we are not together”.

Read also:Wike meets Tinubu, reaffirms opposition to naira redesign

“We know what all of us have agreed,” the governor noted.

However, he did not disclose which of the other 17 presidential candidates the group would support in next week’s election.

Atiku was welcomed by the governor of Enugu State (Ugwuanyi), a G5 member, on Tuesday at Government House in the state’s capital; however, he was not present for the PDP candidate’s rally.

In response to the event, Wike stated that Ugwuanyi’s acceptance of Atiku did not signify that he had left the G5.

“Even before Enugu governor received him (Atiku) in Government House, we knew about it.

“We cannot tell you the approach. Forget about what people are saying, the 25th is here. Everybody will see it,” Wike said.

The G5 is made up of five aggrieved governors of the PDP in southern Nigeria including Wike, Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).

The five governors have been consistent in their demand that Ayu step down as PDP national chairman as a precondition for them to support the 2023 presidential ambition of Atiku.

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