The five aggrieved governors kept their promise to swing votes against the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, but three of them also missed the chance to win Senate seats on the platform that had elected them. As DIRISU YAKUBU writes, the conflict was doomed to produce victims from the start. Fueled by ego and outright arrogance, the warring sides believed victory was within arm’s length, which made them reluctant to pursue peace fully. The result is now political agony for many of them.
Outgoing Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike led his “rebellious” Integrity Group counterparts—Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia)—in an onslaught against PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu and the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The governors had protested the dominance of the northern region after Atiku’s emergence as the 2022 presidential candidate. They demanded Ayu’s resignation to allow a southerner to succeed him, but the former Senate President refused, insisting he was elected to lead the party to victory. Consequently, the PDP entered the 2023 general elections divided, while the governors, aware of the dangers of anti‑party activities, campaigned for rival candidates without considering the consequences.
The internal feud culminated in Atiku’s defeat and the failure of the governors’ bids to “retire” to the Senate from their state houses. The casualties include not only the candidates who lost at the ballot box but also the PDP chairman, who failed to demonstrate sufficient leadership during a deep crisis. Atiku, now 77, saw the 2023 election as perhaps his last chance to achieve his long‑standing ambition of becoming president of Africa’s largest democracy. He campaigned vigorously nationwide, leveraging substantial financial resources and a rescue‑and‑rebuild message for Nigerians at home and in the diaspora. Despite his experience and a close run in 2019, he could not persuade the Wike‑led group to force Ayu out, and he paid dearly. Atiku finished second with 6,984,520 votes, losing to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 8,794,726 votes. Atiku failed to win any of the G‑5 states, losing to Tinubu in Rivers, Benue and Oyo, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party won in Abia and Enugu. True to their pre‑election threat, the aggrieved governors supported rival candidates, further damaging Atiku and the PDP. Although Atiku has filed a suit challenging Tinubu’s declaration, his dream of the presidency may only materialise through the courts, as many pundits doubt his chances of contesting again in 2027 at age 81.
Ifeanyi Okowa, a key agitator for a southern presidency in 2023, hosted a meeting of his colleagues to that effect. However, when Atiku selected him as his running mate, Okowa shifted focus from a Senate return to the Aso Rock race, ultimately losing to the APC. It remains unclear how the two‑time Delta governor will rebound.
Iyorchia Ayu, once labelled “arrogant” by Benue Governor Samuel Ortom, is far from happy today. He ignored counsel to step aside and enable all PDP governors to present a united front against the APC and Labour Party, only to realise belatedly that he lacked the depth to mobilise sufficient support. His electoral weakness was stark in Gboko Local Government Area, where the APC won with 35,149 votes, the Labour Party followed with 18,615, and the PDP lagged far behind with 13,901. In both the presidential and governorship elections, the PDP lost to the APC, making Ayu another casualty of the G‑5 governors’ rebellion.
Samuel Ortom earned praise for openly identifying a presidential candidate to support, unlike Wike, who never named a preferred candidate. Ortom commissioned his aides to campaign for Peter Obi, arguing that a Fulani succeeding Muhammadu Buhari after eight years would be uncharitable to the South. Yet, like Ayu, Ortom suffered double humiliation: he lost the February 25 senatorial election for Benue North‑West to APC candidate Titus Zam, his former special adviser, and his governorship candidate, Titus Uba, fell to APC priest Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia three weeks later. With only two months left in his second term, Ortom’s political trajectory is uncertain. Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor attributed Ortom’s defeat to his alliance with Wike, saying the “poison chalice” from the Rivers governor caused his loss and that Ortom’s failure to address infrastructural challenges signalled voter rejection of bad governance. Osadolor added that Ortom’s poor performance placed him at the bottom of PDP governors, noting that even Wike had once criticised him for not paying salaries before they united against Ayu and Atiku.
Okezie Ikpeazu, a member of the Integrity Group, held numerous meetings at home and abroad to punish the PDP for retaining Ayu after Atiku secured the presidential ticket. Rumoured to have worked for Obi against Atiku, Ikpeazu’s attempt to move from the governorship to the federal parliament failed when he lost to All Progressives Grand Alliance candidate Enyinnaya Abaribe. Three weeks later, the PDP governorship candidate Okey Ahiwe also lost to Labour Party’s Alex Otti.
Governor Wike had previously praised his Enugu counterpart Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, calling him “quiet but very dangerous” and seemingly mocking the PDP’s loss of such an influential leader. Yet, like Ortom and Ikpeazu, Ugwuanyi lost his bid for the Enugu North Senatorial District to Labour Party’s Okechukwu Ezeah. Osadolor argued that Ikpeazu, Ugwuanyi and Ortom would have secured Senate seats had they not rebelled against the party that gave them fame and fortune. He noted, “We called them to order but they didn’t listen. Gov Wike was not on the ballot, but all of them were, except the Rivers State governor. Their antics hurt them in ways they did not envisage. While they danced with a man using them to settle personal scores with Atiku, they forgot to watch their backs. The result is now before them to savour.”
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