Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) parted ways with Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, over his alleged refusal to convince the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to resign after Atiku, a northerner

The governors maintained that Ayu's resignation would bring balance to the opposition party's leadership.

Although Atiku and the governors met multiple times in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, no progress was accomplished since the governors felt that Ayu's removal from power was a prerequisite for peace.

However, a top source told Punch that the governors may accept Obasanjo's advice that they should back Peter Obi, the Labour Party's nominee for president, when determining which presidential candidate to support.

In August, the former president reportedly met with the governors in London, where he advocated for Obi.

An adviser to one of the governors explained the elements that could influence their choice, stating, "The governors are considering Obasanjo's suggestion that the presidency should move to the South in 2023." Obasanjo has instructed people to support Obi because, in his opinion, the presidency should move to the south-east if it comes to the south.

"He advocated for Obi at their previous meeting in London because justice and fairness require that the South-East provide the next president."

When asked when the governors, also known as the Integrity Group, would reveal their favoured candidate, the insider stated, "All indications are that the governors will reveal their preferred candidate next week." If no significant incident occurs before Makinde's campaign launch on January 5, the announcement will be made in Ibadan on that date.

A representative of another governor refuted allegations that the group was split over which presidential candidate to support.

Tuesday at a meeting in London, the governors reportedly concluded that, because Atiku failed to get Ayu to step down, they should support a candidate from the south.

Regarding the rumoured divisions among the governors, the insider responded, "Not really, but they have different approaches to the problem." Some of them hold no animosity towards Atiku. However, none of the governors will speak out against the group's consensus judgement that the president should be awarded to the South. They would have supported Atiku if Ayu had resigned.

Other sources, however, argue that the Integrity Group's cohesiveness may be hanging by a thread, as there appears to be a split inside the organisation.

According to insiders, the argument is over whether to endorse Obi or Bola Tinubu, the APC's presidential candidate.

Wike had asserted in a number of forums that the G5 cannot be dethroned, and that attempts by their adversaries to do so have failed.

It was revealed that Ortom, who is vying for the Senate, and Makinde, who is seeking a second term in office, may have their political futures in jeopardy as a result of their confrontation with Ayu.

In addition, the governor of Benue State had made no secret of his admiration and preference for the former governor of Anambra State, whom he claimed could save Nigeria.

The party's leadership informed the governors that they were free to drop Atiku following their decision to do so.

The party's Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, stated that going to the polls with a divided parliament could not be ruled out, stating, "Let's go to the polls with a divided house." In any case, we cannot exhaust every alternative.