It’s Not Only Me — Wike Reveals How Tinubu Has Supported Former G5 Governors

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said he is not the only former member of the Peoples Democratic Party’s G5 governors benefiting from President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Wike made the clarification during an interview on TVC News’ Journalists’ Hangout on Monday, where he rejected suggestions that he was the only member of the group to have received support or appointments from the Tinubu administration.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Wike said President Tinubu had also extended significant support to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, including a reported ₦50 billion financial intervention connected to the planned expansion and upgrade of the Ibadan airport.

Wike said the support demonstrated that the relationship between Tinubu and members of the former G5 was not limited to his own appointment as a minister. He argued that political support could also be reflected in government assistance and access to the President to raise issues affecting individual states.

The former Rivers State governor also recalled the circumstances surrounding his appointment as a minister. He said that after Tinubu nominated him for a ministerial position, he consulted the PDP leadership at the state, zonal and national levels before accepting the offer.

According to Wike, the party stakeholders he consulted unanimously supported his decision to join the Federal Government, which he said was based on the belief that he could contribute to the administration.

Wike further cited the diplomatic appointments of two other former G5 governors as evidence that the benefits of the relationship with Tinubu were not limited to him. Former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu formally assumed office as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain after presenting his Letters of Credence to King Felipe VI on September 14, 2026.

Former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has also assumed office as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Greece. He presented his Letters of Credence to Greek President Constantine An. Tassoulas on September 16, formally beginning his diplomatic assignment.

Wike said former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom was the only former G5 governor who, according to him, had not accepted a position in the Tinubu administration. He added that Ortom had instead chosen to continue working with the President without taking up a formal appointment.

The G5 governors — Wike, Makinde, Ikpeazu, Ugwuanyi and Ortom — were central figures in the PDP’s internal crisis ahead of the 2023 presidential election. The group opposed the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, amid disagreements over the party leadership and the position of its then national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

Wike, who has continued to support President Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid, maintained that it was therefore inaccurate to portray him as the only former G5 governor benefiting from his relationship with the President