Five governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party are believed to be supporting their Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, in his presidential bid.
Four others are queuing behind former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of next month’s primaries, The Nation gathered yesterday.
The PDP has 13 governors, four of whom are seeking the party’s presidential ticket.
They are Wike himself; Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto); Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) and Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom).
The governors said to be backing the aspiration of the Rivers State governor are Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia); Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu); Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Duoye Diri (Bayelsa) and Samuel Ortom (Benue).
The pro-Atiku governors are Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba).
Apparently left without support from any of their colleagues, Tambuwal and Mohammed have aligned with former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to intensify their campaign for consensus.
The pro-Wike governors have been insistent in their campaign for the ticket to be zoned to the South.
They are being joined in the clamour for zoning by other presidential aspirants from the Southeast, including former Senate President, Pius Anyim; former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; an industrialist, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa and a United States based medical doctor, Nwachukwu Anakwenze .
Also aligning with Wike is former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose who is a presidential aspirant himself and personal friend of the Rivers State governor.
The agitation for zoning has thrown up a fresh contest between the Southeast and the South-south, with stakeholders in the two zones competing for attention.
But the two zones are being challenged by the pro-Atiku group which continues to canvass open contest for the party’s ticket.
It was gathered that Tambuwal, having failed in convincing some targeted PDP governors to buy into the consensus idea, is pushing ahead with Saraki and Bala Mohammed.
The position of PDP leaders in states not under the control of PDP on consensus is not clear yet ahead of the primaries.
