2023: Fayose, Three APC Governors Storm Rivers to Woo Wike
By Kabir Akintayo
Former Governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, has led some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to visit their Rivers state counterpart, Nyesom Wike.
Fayose had recently declared support for Southern Presidency despite the fact that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is a northerner.
The governors in the meeting include Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state and Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state.
The development is believed to be connected with the crisis in the PDP resulting from the nomination of Atiku as the candidate of the main opposition party for the 2023 presidential election.
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The crisis worsened after Atiku rejected the recommendation of an ad hoc committee of the party and picked Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate.
The committee was reported to have recommended Wike for the position.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Fayemi, told journalists that the meeting was more about national issues that politics.
The ruling party and Bola Tinubu are believed to be trying to capitalise on the crisis in the opposition party to seek the support of Wike for the forthcoming presidential poll.
Last week, the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, decried the treatment the PDP and Atiku had allegedly meted on Mr Wike and advised the candidate to placate the governor.
Other leaders of the party, such as the chairperson of its Board of Trustees, Walid Jibrin, and former governor of Plateau, Jonah Jang, have also issued the same advice.