The immediate past Governor of Benue State, Chief Samuel Ortom, has dismissed as false and baseless a report credited to a group calling itself the International Centre for Transparency Nigeria (ICTN), which alleged that he is involved in an arrangement to support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential election. In a statement, Ortom’s media assistant, Zege Paul, said the claim is inconsistent with the former governor’s well-known and long-standing position on equity, fairness and justice in the leadership of Nigeria.
Chief Ortom’s position on the presidency has not changed. Nigerians will recall that in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, Ortom and four other Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, known as the G-5 Governors, took a principled stand that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, justice, fairness and national cohesion demanded that the presidency should rotate to the southern part of the country. Their position was never driven by personal animosity against any individual but was founded on the conviction that in a diverse federation such as Nigeria, the major sections of the country must have a sense of belonging and that power rotation remains an important instrument for promoting inclusion, stability and national unity.
Ortom stood firmly by that conviction in 2023 despite the enormous political pressure and consequences that came with it. His position has not changed in 2026 and will not suddenly change because some faceless group has manufactured a political story. He still believes that the principle which informed the position of the G-5 in 2023 remains valid ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Having supported the rotation of the presidency to the South after eight years of a northern presidency, it would amount to a complete contradiction for him to turn around four years later and support the return of the presidency to the North.
For the avoidance of doubt, Chief Samuel Ortom believes that the presidency should remain in the South in 2027. He therefore has no reason whatsoever to support Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or any other northern candidate for President in 2027. In 2024, while speaking in Port Harcourt, Ortom publicly declared support for President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election, and he has not changed his stand. His conviction is that the President is the right man for the job, as he has started well and should be supported to complete his major reforms in the country’s economy and overall development. Any report suggesting otherwise is not only false but flies in the face of Ortom’s publicly established political position over the years.
Chief Ortom also wishes to make it abundantly clear that he remains firmly aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, with whom he and the other members of the G-5 stood together in defence of equity and justice in 2023. Chief Wike is the National Leader of the PDP and there has been no development whatsoever to warrant the speculation that Ortom has abandoned the political position he shares with Wike to enter into an arrangement with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Those attempting to manufacture such an alliance are therefore pursuing a narrative that collapses under the weight of its own contradictions.
Ortom’s political position is neither ambiguous nor hidden. He stood for a southern presidency in 2023. He still stands for a southern presidency in 2027. And he remains firmly with Chief Nyesom Wike. Another point to emphasise is that whenever Ortom and other prominent Benue sons meet, their meeting is part of ongoing consultations and engagements aimed at building a broad strategic alliance of Benue stakeholders for the greater good of the state. He further reaffirms his conviction that Chief Aondoakaa possesses the experience, competence, character and capacity required to provide purposeful leadership for Benue State and has the vision and ability to prudently harness the significantly increased resources accruing to the state following the removal of fuel subsidy to address Benue’s development challenges, stimulate economic growth and transform the state for the benefit of its people.
Members of the public are therefore urged to disregard the false allegation credited to the so-called ICTN and treat it as another attempt by desperate political elements to manufacture divisions and create political relationships where none exist. Chief Ortom remains committed to the principles of equity, justice and fairness which informed the historic position of the G-5 Governors, and no amount of political fabrication will rewrite that record.
