Ortom to Atiku: You’re first presidential candidate rejected by own party

The immediate past Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has fired back at Atiku Abubakar, saying he ought to be worried for being the first presidential candidate of a leading political party to be rejected by key stakeholders, including five sitting governors of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ortom’s reaction followed a statement allegedly credited to the former vice president and 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku, claiming that Ortom and his colleagues in the G-5 worked against him during the last elections but had ongoing corruption cases at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and were being protected by President Bola Tinubu.

Ortom in a statement on Wednesday through his media aide, Terver Akase, said: “We are not sure that the Special Assistant on Public Communication to the PDP presidential candidate got his consent before making the statement; because if he did, he would have refrained from blaming the G-5 for his loss at the polls. 

“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar ought to be worried more that he has gone into history as the first presidential candidate of a leading political party to be rejected by key stakeholders including five sitting Governors and many other members of his party.

“The question that should bother him is, why did the G-5 and other members of the Integrity Group reject his candidacy? The group stood for justice, equity, and fairness that the 2023 presidency must go to the southern part of the country and Nigerians saw the indisputable facts contained in the position of the Integrity Group and voted for a presidential candidate from the south.”

He further said Atiku was angry because Ortom and his colleagues in the G-5 refused to be used by him as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to circumvent and thwart the resolve of Nigerians to produce a president from the southern region.

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