…Says G5 Have Agreed On A Presidential Candidate

…Faults Buhari’s Ban Of N500, N1,000 Notes Despite Supreme Court


With a few days to the February 25 presidential election, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has ruled out any last-minute deal or truce between the G5 and the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

The governor also said he is not ready to sit with any member of Atiku’s camp to broker peace between the G5 or the Integrity Group and the national leadership of the party led by Iyorchia Ayu.

Wike, in a media chat on Thursday morning, also said he owes nobody an apology to have hosted the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu in Port Harcourt after the latter’s rally in the state on Wednesday.

Asked about the possibility of a last-minute deal with Atiku, Wike said, “No, we can’t do that; it’s over! We have said it and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. They believe they can win the election. I am not ready to sit down with anybody again.”

Wike, a member of the G5, has not been on talking terms with Atiku since the party’s presidential primary last May.

The G5 is made up of five aggrieved governors of the PDP in southern Nigeria including Wike, Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).

The five governor have been consistent in their demand that Ayu step down as PDP national chairman as a precondition for them to support the 2023 presidential ambition of Atiku.

The G5 has been quiet of late but Wike said the group is not dead. According to him, the group has its own strategies and “not all of us will do the talking. That others are quiet does not mean we are not together”.

“We know what all of us have agreed,” the governor noted but did not disclose which of the other 17 presidential candidates the group would support in next week’s election.

A member of the G5 and governor of Enugu State (Ugwuanyi) had on Tuesday received Atiku at the Government House in the state capital but was not present at the rally of the PDP presidential candidate.

Commenting on the rally, Wike said receiving Atiku does not mean that Ugwuanyi had deserted the G5.

“Even before Enugu governor received him (Atiku) in Government House, we knew about it.

“We cannot tell you the approach. Forget about what people are saying, the 25th is here. Everybody will see it,” Wike said.

Meanwhile, Wike also faulted the ban of old N500 and N1,000 notes by President Muhammadu Buhari despite an order of the Supreme Court saying three old banknotes should remain legal tender till a determination on the case.

Wike, in a media chat after the President’s national broadcast on Thursday morning, described as a “corporate interference”, the pronouncement of the President that old N200 notes remain valid for 60 days while old N500 and N1,000 notes cease to be legal tender.

“The Supreme Court having given an interim order, we should have waited for it. As far as I am concerned, it is a corporate interference which is not good for our system, for our democracy,” the governor said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 22.

However, the President, in a national broadcast on Thursday, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release old N200 notes into circulation to co-exist with new N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes for 60 days.

He said old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in Nigeria.

In his reaction, Wike said though the naira redesign policy is targeted at some people, the timing and implementation were wrong.

The governor said he thought the President would have obeyed the apex court of the land and not interfered.

“The highest court of the land has made a pronouncement. The Supreme Court has said do not do anything that will affect the use of the old naira note.
“I feel that (the President’s declaration) is not the proper thing and I am not happy,” he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor said the advisers of the President should have counselled him to respect Supreme Court order.

He said, “This also tells us how we do not respect or obey the rule of law. At this level, the advisers to Mr President would have said, ‘This issue is subject to litigation and any step you take will one way or the other affect the Supreme Court’s (stance)’