The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and his allies in the G5 group have been urged by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, to establish a similar faction within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The objective is to facilitate a smooth path to victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2027 presidential election.
The G5 group originally comprised five dissatisfied politicians who opposed the PDP’s decision to nominate a northerner and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, as its presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
The group’s members included Wike, the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, as well as former Governors Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Benue, Abia, and Enugu States, respectively. Their alleged contributions to the party’s failure in the previous election were widely discussed.
During a Thanksgiving reception held at Wike’s private residence in Rumuepirikom, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on June 18, 2023, Akpabio expressed his desire for the emergence of another dissatisfied group within the PDP before the upcoming general elections. He hoped that such a group would facilitate matters for his own party, the APC.
Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, took the opportunity to express gratitude to Wike for supporting the APC’s candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and for his backing of power returning to the southern region of Nigeria.
“I want to thank you for all your efforts to bring justice to Nigeria,” the Senate President said.
“And I want to thank the G5 Governors.
“We are very delighted, we are proud to have G5. Please, ensure that in 2027, another G5 emerges so that APC will continue to do well in this country. And if you like, you can add two more, make it G7 and not only G5,” Akpabio added.
