Why I worked against PDP in 2023 – Ortom

Ortom

Samuel Ortom, former governor of Benue state, says he worked against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election because it abandoned justice and fairness.

BACKGROUND

The opposition party has been battling internal divisions that began in the lead-up to the 2023 general election and ultimately contributed to its defeat at the polls.

A major point of contention was the outcome of the party’s presidential primary in May 2022, which some party members alleged was manipulated by Iyorchia Ayu, the former national chairman, to favour Atiku Abubakar, a northerner.

At the time, some party members were advocating for a southern presidential candidate, arguing that power should rotate away from the north, as former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, was completing his second term.

A group of five governors known as the Integrity Group (G5 governors), led by Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers at the time, refused to back Abubakar’s candidacy during the election.

Wike, who contested in the presidential primary, lost to Abubakar.

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‘PDP DIDN’T UPHOLD EQUITY, FAIRNESS’

Speaking in an  on Thursday, Ortom claimed that the PDP failed to uphold fairness and equity by not unanimously backing a southern candidate.