APC chairman says they are ready to admit the G5 group of governors into their ranks any time soon

NIGERIA'S ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that it is willing to admit the five estranged governors from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) known as the G5 into its ranks the moment they decided to make the switch.

In June last year, the PDP elected  former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidat6e, prompting the G5 or Integrity Group to break ranks with the party. One of them, the then Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State was a candidate in that election but he was beaten into second place and to make matters worse for him, he was not then picked as the party's running mate.

With Alhaji Abubakar opting to pick Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate, Governor Wike and his supporters, went on the war path. Governors Wike, Seyi Makinde  (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) made up what is now known as the G5 Group of Governors and campaigned for the APC presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who subsequently won the elections.

Of late, there has been talk about the PDP expelling the G5 from its ranks but Governor Wike said nobody in the party could drive the members of the Integrity Group out of the house they spent many years building. However, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the APC's national chairman, has declared that the party is willing to receive the estranged governors into its fold.

According to Senator Adamu, the G5 will be most welcome whenever they decide to opt for the ruling party. He also described the rumoured differences between himself and President Bola Tinubu as unfounded, saying before the emergence of Tinubu as the party's candidate,  he had the right to support whoever he wanted.

Senator Adamu said he had a right to hold an opinion like he did on former senate president Senator Ahmad Lawan before the primaries but noted that once it was clear that Tinubu emerged, every member had to rally around him. He said he currently has a good working relationship with President Tinubu since his election, noting that the president has always given him his full attention each time they met.