Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has berated Samuel Ortom, Nyesom Wike and other G5 governors for working against his candidature in the 2023 presidential election.
Ortom, the former Benue State governor, revealed Friday why he and other members of the G5 Governors’ Forum oppose the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 elections.
Ortom, a key member of the G5 group of PDP governors, stated that the party’s failure to uphold equality, fairness, and justice is why they opted to oppose it.
Speaking on Arise TV yesterday, Ortom stated that the G5 had asked that the presidency shift to the South after eight years of Northern hegemony under Muhammadu Buhari, but the PDP’s decision to field Atiku, who is also a Northerner, violated that principle.
“I acted as I did because we had expected the PDP to uphold equity, fairness, and justice, values I hold dear.
“When the majority of PDP members supported a Northern candidate, we deemed it unjust. We’ve always stood for equity, fairness, and justice, and we felt the presidency should alternate between the North and South for eight years each,” he said.
As head of the PDP’s zoning committee, Ortom stated that, while the committee recommended an open contest, he personally advocated for a Southern candidate.
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He emphasised that the party’s National Executive Committee, or NEC, made the final decision, which resulted in Atiku’s candidature.
“I presented the committee’s report as it was, and the NEC made the final call. I couldn’t override the collective decision,” Ortom explained.
Speaking on the role of Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, in the crisis, Ortom revealed, “We fought for Wike to be the PDP’s presidential candidate, but unfortunately, he didn’t secure the nomination. We also believed he should have been the running mate. I was part of the 20-member committee tasked with selecting a running mate, and 16 of us supported Wike. However, the candidate and the party leadership decided otherwise.”
Ortom justified his decision to back opposition candidates in 2023, claiming that politics is driven by interests.
“Politics revolves around interests. There’s no permanent enemy or friend in politics. It’s about protecting the interests of your community, your people, and yourself,” he stated.
However, the former vice president responded by describing them as disappointed opportunists looking for prominence. Atiku said there was nothing noble about the G5’s rebellion.
Atiku, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, said the Benue governor was trying to play the ostrich.
He said, “Let us be clear, there was nothing noble about the G5’s rebellion. It was not a stand for justice. It was a gamble rooted in personal ambition, ego, and frustration over political miscalculations.
“The PDP’s zoning committee, which Ortom himself chaired, recommended an open contest. That decision adopted by NEC was not imposed by Atiku Abubakar or any Northern bloc. It was a democratic resolution, endorsed by the party’s highest decision-making body.
“To now feign surprise or outrage over a process one midwifed is to play the ostrich.
“Furthermore, the notion that Atiku Abubakar was the continuation of ‘northern rule’ ignores the critical reality that Atiku is, first and foremost, a democrat, a bridge between regions, religions, and ideologies. His ambition has never been based on geography.
“As for Ortom’s newfound allegiance to a ‘Southern Presidency’, the question must be asked: which South? In one breath, he endorsed Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and in the next, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Nyesom Wike, who threw his weight behind Bola Tinubu of the APC.
“This ideological hopscotch betrays not a devotion to justice, but an opportunistic drift in search of relevance.”
