Three of the five aggrieved Governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who vowed to politically retire the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, may have gotten their own share of the heartbreak.
Recall that the governors of Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abi State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and their leader, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, decided to support a presidential candidate from another party, abandoning Atiku’s bid.
The PDP leadership crisis began when Wilke was unable to secure the party’s nomination to run for president in May 2022.
Prior to the primary election that produced the former vice president as PDP flagbearer, Southern governors had unanimously agreed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor must come from the South.
However, the PDP primary election did not favor Southerners, particularly Wike, as Atiku received 371 votes to defeat the Rivers Governor, who received 237 votes in the May 2022 primary election.
Wike and the four other governors demanded the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, after being outraged by the outcome of the primary election.