Before Saturday, Seyi Makinde, incumbent governor of Oyo State, was the last of the PDP G5 or Integrity Group with an election.
The G5 curse
Already, Governors Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Samuel Ortom (Benue), who have been in office for eight years each, all lost their senatorial bid while Nyesom Wike (Rivers) who is also completing his second term as governor did not qualify for any elective post.
The Genesis
The five governors formed an alliance after the party’s presidential primary in May 2022, to demand that the Peoples Democratic Party PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu step down for a southern replacement as a precondition to support the presidential ambition of the party’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar in the February 25 poll. Both Atiku and Ayu called the governors’ bluff and did not succumb to their demands in the just-concluded elections.
Atiku, conquered by the politically cursed G5
For the presidential election, Atiku lost in all the G5 states while Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi won Enugu and Abia, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) raked in Oyo, Benue and Rivers.
The G5 could not agree on a consensus candidate, hence all stood united in the fact that the PDP will not have their support in the presidential election. Makinde and Wike supported the now president-elect, Bola Tinubu; Ortom supported Peter Obi... Find out others here.
Makinde defeats the G5 curse
Makinde and Wike delivered their states to the president-elect, while their other aso-ebi brothers could not deliver their states to their various presidential bets.
The PDP in Oyo state was divided following Makinde's decision. The stakes for the governor were hinged on his popularity, support from the APC, or unite the PDP in the state in the very limited amount of time.
Against him were still the odds and real sentiments of the grassroot, which could be for or against his decision to sly PDP in the presidential election, yet finding the audacity to run under the party for a second term.
Moreover, asides from the late Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo State has a trend of not praising the same master twice.
Despite all odds, Makinde emerged the winner over Teslim Folarin of the APC and Adebayo Adelabu of the Accord Party.
Makinde secured an emphatic 563,756 votes to defeat Folarin, his closest challenger, who got 256,685 votes, while Adelabu came a distant third with 38,357 votes. Makinde recorded a convincing win with no razor-thin margin. The governor won 31 LGAs while Folarin took only two LGAs.
Makinde broke the curse, made history, and became the biggest winner among the G5.