On Monday, there were signs that Udom Emmanuel, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, had failed in his attempts to convince disgruntled PDP governors to accept peace.
Emmanuel met with Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, and Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, a few days ago in Port Harcourt as part of his efforts to persuade the resentful governor to back Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate.
It was learnt that the meeting was a last-ditch effort by the governor to persuade his counterparts to give peace a chance, despite the fact that Emmanuel characterized it as a brotherly visit in the spirit of Christmas.
This came to the fore on Monday as the aggrieved governors are scheduled to visit Ibadan on Thursday for the inauguration of their Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde’s campaign.
Meanwhile, the five governors will on Thursday be in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital for the flag-off of Makinde’s second-term campaign rally.
A source at the Wadata Plaza, the national secretariat of the PDP told newsmen that all the five governors have pledged their availability for the event.
“You know they are more than colleagues now. Whatever affects one affects the others. They are in solidarity with whoever among them is celebrating or marking any special event. As usual, Wike, the leader of the group will be there alongside the others.
“Even though they are members of the PDP, they are going about their campaigns as if they have a different party. They are in a world of their own, riding on the influence of their executive powers to call the bluff of the party,” he said.
