FIVE aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have hinted that reconciliation between them and the party’s leadership is still open.
The governors, known as the G5, are Nyesome Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
The governors, led by Wike, have been at loggerheads with the party’s leadership since the its presidential primary election in June this year.
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They had called on the PDP national chairman Iyorchia Ayu to step down for a southerner, based on a previous commitment.
Addressing journalists at the end of their closed-door meeting in Lagos today, a former Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, said the group had renamed itself Integrity Group.
Jang said the group still stands on the decision it took in Port-Harcourt in August, where they unanimously agreed among other things that Ayu must resign.
“After a careful review of developments in our party, we have decided to stand on the decisions we took in our Port- Harcourt meeting.
“And we hereby reiterate that the window for reconciliation in our great party, PDP, remains open,” he said.
Gov Makinde told journalists before the meeting went into a closed-door session that they had converged in order to review the situation within the fold, and to also look at what was going to happen with the coming elections.
He said the media would be briefed on the outcome at the end of the deliberations.
“The G5 is all about Integrity Group. You can see us as serving governors, as the face of the struggle. But the leaders and elders of the party that you see here are the people behind those faces, and we are here this morning, in the South-West, to review the situation within the party, to review where we are, and to also look at what is going to happen with the coming elections,” he said.
The meeting was hosted by a PDP former deputy national chairman Bode George.
Those at the meeting included a former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose; a former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko; the party’s South-South deputy national chairman, Dan Orbih; and his South-West counterpart, Taofeek Arapaja.
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