Governors of Cross River, Ben Ayade and Ebonyi State, David Umahi, Wednesday evening met behind closed doors with their Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike in Port Harcourt.
Mr Wike’s ally and Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, later joined the meeting held at Wike’s country home, Rumueprikon, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state, Punch newspaper said in its report.
Details of the meeting among the four governors, two each from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was not disclosed.
Mr Wike, who had fallen out with the leadership of PDP after the party’s presidential primaries, had been receiving emissaries from the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and that of the APC, Bola Tinubu.
Ayade and Umayi’s visit comes days after Wike explained why Atiku’s photos were missing in Rivers PDP campaign materials, and hours after Wike’s ally, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State openly withdrew support for Mr Atiku.
Mr Ortom demanded an open apology from the PDP presidential candidate over comments allegedly made against him.
Ayade and Umayi were elected on the platform of the PDP but later defected to the ruling APC.
There are speculations that the two governors may have sent by the APC to talk Governor Wike into supporting the APC presidential candidate, Mr Tinubu, particularly as the rift between Messrs Wike and Atiku appears to deteriorate by the day.
Some other APC governors from Mr Tinubu’s geopolitical zone, South-west, had earlier visited Governor Wike.
Governors Babajide Sanwo-olu of Lagos, Rotimi Akerendolu of Ondo, and the then governor of Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi, met with Mr Wike in July.
Tinubu and Atiku have also met with Mr Wike and his allies outside the country but the Rivers governor has yet to reveal the presidential candidate he would support.
Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, has also paid several visits to Governor Wike in Port Harcourt.
Rivers State has over 3.5 million registered voters and is placed fourth in terms of voter’s population in the country, after Lagos, Kano and Kaduna.
This may be why presidential candidates of other political parties are seeking the support of Mr Wike in next year’s election, amidst deepening crisis in the PDP.
Mr Wike is leading a group of party loyalists, including four other governors, who are demanding the replacement of the National Chairman of PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, with a southerner to achieve “regional balance” in the party leadership since Messrs Ayu and Atiku are both northerners.
The governors who are with Mr Wike on the demand for Mr Ayu’s resignation are Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Samuel Ortom of Benue.
The group had earlier withdrawn from Mr Atiku’s presidential campaign council and boycotted its inauguration.
