Revealed: Why G5 Governors Turned Against Atiku And PDP – Ortom Spills Secrets

Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has opened up on why he and other members of the G5 Governors distanced themselves from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday, July 17, Ortom said the decision was rooted in the PDP’s failure to uphold the principles of equity, fairness, and justice. According to him, the G5 Governors had strongly advocated for power to shift to the South, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure as a Northern leader.

“We expected the PDP to honour the principle of equity by supporting a Southern presidential candidate,” Ortom stated. “When the party instead rallied behind another Northerner, it went against what we believed was fair and just.”

As the chairman of the PDP’s zoning committee at the time, Ortom recalled that although the committee recommended an open race for the presidential ticket, he personally supported a Southern candidate. Ultimately, however, the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) opted for Atiku.

“I presented the zoning committee’s report faithfully, but the NEC had the final authority. I couldn’t overrule the party’s collective decision,” he explained.

Ortom also shed light on the role of Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, saying, “We stood behind Wike to be the PDP presidential flagbearer, and later, to be the running mate. I was part of the 20-man panel assigned to recommend a running mate, and 16 of us endorsed Wike. But the candidate and party leaders chose a different direction.”