As the 2023 general election draws closer, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Yekini Nabena, has said that the presidential candidate of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would not rely on the support of the aggrieved five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), otherwise known as G-5, to win the presidential poll.
Yekini, who was the deputy national publicity secretary of the party, described the G-5 governors comprising Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and Nyesom Wike of Rivers State as confused, handicapped persons that lack the capacity to sway votes for the APC at the poll.
Nabena urged political leaders in the APC that were still romancing with the aggrieved five governors to have a rethink and retrace their steps.
Speaking at an interactive session with reporters in Abuja, yesterday, he stated that except Wike, other four governors didn’t live up to the expectations of their people to deliver reasonable votes for any presidential candidate.
According to Nabena, unless INEC delivers election materials to state Government Houses directly and allows the governors to manipulate the process, the forthcoming general election would be beyond the reach of some poorly performing governors like Ortom, Ikpeazu, Ugwuanyi and Makinde, noting that Wike is an exception because he has some infrastructure to show his people.
When asked whether his party will embrace the G-5 if they decide to work for Tinubu, the Bayelsa-born politician said: “The G-5 governors are confused and handicapped, whether as PDP men or as supporters of any opposition party.
“We have been hearing all manners of things. Today they are with Asiwaju, tomorrow they are with Peter Obi and next tomorrow they may work for Atiku. Which one do we believe?
“If they support our party and we win in the February presidential election, our members won’t see the G-5 governors as an ally to be trusted. Again if they change their minds and work for Atiku and (God forbid) PDP wins after all they have told Nigerians, they will still be treated like pariahs.
The same treatment will befall them in Labour Party. Therefore, give or take, these governors are losers in waiting.” Nabena urged Nigerians to ignore the “noise making-governors”, adding that no serious presidential candidate was still counting on their support to win in February.
He added: “The new Electoral Law has reduced dramatically the influence of sitting governors to do magic during election unless the electoral umpire decides to handover the process to them. The less performing governors are the worst for it because the electorate won’t listen to them on election day.
“Again, the new innovations as introduced by INEC, if religiously followed, is another challenge for those who think they can sway the vote. This BVAS is not anybody’s mate. People will decide and not governors any longer.
“I will advise those who are still waiting on the G-5 governors to shift their attention to the real voters because these governors won’t be at the polling unit on election day.”
When asked about his assessment of the ongoing APC campaign rallies across states of the federation, Nabena said: “Tinubu’s candidacy is nationwide accepted. That’s why you see massive support wherever the campaign train goes.
“By God’s grace, victory is certain for the APC and that’s why I don’t think we need the support of these paperweight G-5 governors because it will be unfair to our leaders in these five states who are working hard and mobilising for our candidate to be relegated for the PDP governors.”
The APC chieftain, however, called for more inclusion in the ongoing process to deliver the Tinubu/Shettima presidential ticket.
“I will call on our leaders to bring more people on board. There are certain people who are still aggrieved because of one thing or the other, especially as a result of primary elections that produced various candidates at all levels. The APC national leaders should do more to ensure genuine reconciliation across board,” Nabena said.
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