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.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
