Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, is currently feeling discontented.
Instead of being happy about his nomination as a minister by the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) government, he is upset that he and the other G5 governors have been treated unfairly by President Bola Tinubu.
The G5 governors, who call themselves the Integrity Group, are a group of five governors from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who did not support their presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, because they believed that the presidency should rotate from the north to the south after the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
They also demanded the resignation of the party chairman, Iyorcha Ayu, arguing that having both Atiku and Ayu, who are from the northern part of Nigeria, as presidential candidates and party chairman goes against the principle of inclusivity.
Alongside Wike, the other governors are Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Samuel Ortom, former governors of Abia, Enugu, and Benue States respectively.
Before the general elections, there were speculations that the G5 governors had switched their loyalties to the APC in exchange for political favors.
These speculations turned out to be true when the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) announced the presidential results of Oyo and Rivers States, both won by the APC.
After Tinubu was sworn in as president, the G5 governors visited him at Aso Rock, with Wike and Makinde visiting him separately as well.
It was during these visits that assurances of political favors were made, including ministerial appointments.
While Wike became a nominee from Rivers State despite being a member of the PDP, Makinde and the other governors received nothing.
Makinde’s nominee for a ministerial position was overlooked, and instead, Tinubu nominated Adebayo Adelabu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and a former governorship candidate of the Accord Party in Oyo State.
Tinubu also plans to nominate Prof Oyelaran Oyeyinka, another indigene of Oyo State, in his next batch of ministerial nominees.
This has left Makinde unhappy, as his candidate is unlikely to be included in the second batch.
Similarly, Wike’s nominee from Edo State, Dan Orbih, was also sidelined.
Orbih is a close ally of Wike and played a significant role in defeating the APC in the gubernatorial re-election of Godwin Obaseki.
He is considered Wike’s right-hand man. Wike had recommended Orbih to Tinubu as a ministerial nominee, but unfortunately, he was not included in the list.
The other three governors were also left disappointed.
This has infuriated Wike, who claims that the ministerial list does not align with what he discussed with Tinubu in confidence.
He hopes that Tinubu will keep to their agreement with his next batch of ministerial nominees.
Wike plans to create political unrest if his agreement with Tinubu is not honored.
Article updated 3 days ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
