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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said the group of former PDP governors, popularly referred as G-5 governors, were romancing with President Bola Tinubu because they were seeking relevance, appointments and protection from prosecution.
Atiku stated this in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu.
He noted that the decision of the G-5 governors not to support him in the presidential election had nothing to do with patriotism, adding that Nigerians should not be deceived by them.
“Ortom was one of the worst governors in the history of Nigeria. His case file at the EFCC is bulky, and he was recently invited but released because of Wike’s intervention.
“Okezie Ikpeazu, the former governor of Abia State, also performed woefully in office. His successor has been complaining almost on a daily basis. But the EFCC will not prosecute him because of the G-5 connection. This is what they have turned the country into. No wonder they believe Nigeria needs an average mad person,” he said.
Atiku also said that former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was spot on in describing the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, as “an average mad man.”
The former vice president was reacting to Fayose’s interview on Channels Television on Sunday, wherein he said: “Wike is an articulate capacity person. Nigeria needs an average mad person.”
Atiku further said Fayose should have been man enough to publicly campaign for President Bola Tinubu in the build up to the presidential election instead of coming out now.
He added that the former Ekiti governor was only running from pillar to post in order to get Tinubu to discontinue his N1.7 billion corruption case at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
“On September 20, 2022, Fayose, while addressing supporters in Ado Ekiti publicly stated that he would be supporting Waziri Atiku Abubakar despite Wike’s protests. A simple Google search will confirm this.
“Then after Tinubu’s dubious victory, Fayose quickly changed gears, stating that he was the one who delivered Ekiti State to the APC. This is his stock in trade. He is a lily-livered rabble-rouser who loves to be in the spotlight and pretends to be more popular than he really is.
“This is the deception of the man. Aware of the fact that he cannot get a ministerial appointment because of people like Kayode Fayemi, Dele Alake and Dayo Adeyeye who are jostling for the Ekiti slot, Fayose is now running from pillar to post, trying to get an appointment for his son while also trying to get the government to withdraw his corruption case from court.
“With the weight of evidence presented by the EFCC and its star witness, Senator Musilu Obanikoro, Fayose is now desperately trying to get the case compromised or withdrawn. Nigerians should not be deceived by his antics,” Shaibu added.