Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has explained why he and other G5 governors opposed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking on Arise TV on July 17, Ortom said the G5’s stance was rooted in the PDP’s failure to respect the principles of equity, fairness, and justice. According to him, the group believed power should shift to the South after eight years of Northern leadership under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We expected the PDP to promote fairness by zoning the presidency to the South. When the majority pushed for a Northern candidate, we considered it unjust,” Ortom said. “We’ve always stood for equity and believed power should alternate between the North and South every eight years.”
As chairman of the PDP’s zoning committee, Ortom said the panel left the contest open, but he personally supported a Southern candidate. Ultimately, the party’s National Executive Committee endorsed Atiku’s candidacy.
“I presented the report as it was. The NEC had the final say — I couldn’t override that,” he added.
Ortom also revealed that the G5 had backed Nyesom Wike, now FCT Minister, both as a presidential candidate and later as a preferred running mate. “Sixteen of us on the 20-member vice-presidential committee supported Wike, but the leadership chose differently,” he said.