G-5 Governors on an End Game
Believe me if you will, the five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who are united in their anti- Ayu demand are getting battle weary.
Apart from morphing to what they brand as the Integrity Group within the party, they are in reality confused on a way out of the fox hole they have dug themselves into.
Truth is, there is no attractive option for the lead actor Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who wouldn’t love to play second fiddle in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, where the Rotimi Amaechi camp holds sway. Even in national politics, Wike wouldn’t fancy the relegated status awaiting him there.
Leave the APC out, no other party has the national spread and structure that Wike craves for his kind of politics. So neither Labour Party, nor the New Nigeria Peoples Party is a good idea despite his flirting with their presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwakwanso respectively. It is the same case for his other 4 allies.
More importantly, these Governors have anointed successors on the PDP platform they hope to install, save Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo who seeks a second term in office.
So leaving PDP is not realistic for any of the five and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar knows this is their dilemma.
Much as Atiku Abubakar knows this strife within the ranks of PDP is a threat to his Presidential bid, and much as he would have caved to pressure for the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, he still holds the aces and can afford to gamble.
His announcement that he has moved on and rumours that he is negotiating with some APC Governor’s has rattled the Wike camp. They know that, in politics anything can happen.
Atiku Abubakar simply applied the
36th of the 48 Laws of Power, which states that, “When faced with an irritating, but minor offense, sometimes the best course is to ignore it. Not responding can be a demonstration of power — a message that it’s not worth your interest.”
This seeming I-no-longer- care posturing of Atiku is making the G5 paranoid, if not jittery.
Read their body language and endless news conferences, you will see that the Wike led G5 are behaving like a jilted lover looking for attention or a dotting toddler crying for the nanny to notice him.
The G5 are now like National Entertainers. I don’t want to use the term Comedians. Every other day, for fear of one or two breaking away in betrayal of the group, they now wear different costumes dancing across State capitals from Enugu, to Markurdi, Port Harcourt to Lagos and the circus show continues
Other governors who are with Wike in the group are Samuel Ortom of Benue, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia.
Truth is, the G5 are desperate for this conundrum to be resolved. They have more to lose going forward if the PDP fails. The problem is, in this battle of Ego’s, who will blink first?
They know this bait is like riding the back of the tiger. It is a dicey game.
