The immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, says the G5 or the Integrity Group in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will support President Bola Tinubu in 2027 if he decides to seek re-election in office.
Ortom said this at a luncheon hosted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Sunday, January 7, 2024.
The G5 includes Ortom; Wike; Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; former governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and the immediate past governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia).
The group within the PDP worked against the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the February 25, 2023, presidential election, and supported Tinubu, a southern candidate, who eventually emerged as the winner of the poll.
However, Ortom, while speaking on Sunday, said the G5 has no regret for supporting Tinubu in the presidential election, stressing that the group will again support the president for a second term in office as Nigeria’s President.
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The former said Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, had declared that the group would support President Tinubu in 2027.
He said: “Our leader, Nyesom Wike, has already made a declaration that in 2027, we are supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We have nowhere to go because that is what Nigerians believe. Even the past administration that took Nigeria from top to bottom, we allowed them to work for eight years. So, why can’t a seasoned administrator in the person President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rule us for eight years?”
The Star recalls that Wike, in November 2023, said he would not contest for presidency in 2027 if President Tinubu decides to seek re-election in office.
There have been speculations that Wike, who came second in the presidential primaries of the PDP in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, could revive his presidential ambition in 2027.
The minister lost to Atiku, a former Vice President, in the primary election.
Wike, however, declared that he would not contest against his boss, Tinubu, in the 2027 presidential election.
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