Former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has declared that he had no regrets over his decision to oppose the presidential bid of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 general election despite Atiku being the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday, Ortom maintained that his actions were based on the collective interest of his people, not personal ambition at the time.
“I did not hide it. I have no regret,” he said pointedly when asked about his role in opposing Atiku’s candidacy.
Recall that Ortom was part of the influential G5 governors, a bloc of PDP governors who openly rejected Atiku and instead backed President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.
He dismissed accusations of betrayal, insisting that his loyalty was to the people of Benue State.
“Which betrayal?” he asked. “Pursuing my interest or the interest of my people? The interest of my people is that you provide what they want. If you ask me, I would describe politics as a game of doing what your people want, not what I want.”
The former governor went further to explain that his opposition to Atiku’s candidacy was rooted in the principle of fairness and power rotation. He questioned the rationale behind allowing another northerner to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, also from the North, after eight years in power.
“We were preaching equity, fairness and justice,” Ortom said. “How can you explain to me that a northerner won the presidency for eight years and another northerner, from the same ethnic group, will win the presidency for another four years or eight years, as the case may be? Our democracy has not gotten to that level.”
According to him, the call for a southern presidency was not just a matter of sentiment but a necessary step toward balancing the federation.
“We said no; it is in the unwritten constitution that the North will do eight years and the South will do eight years. So, we believed in a southern presidency and not a northern presidency,” he added.
Despite recent political alignments within his state and party, Ortom reaffirmed his commitment to the PDP and ruled out joining any opposition coalition, especially the newly unveiled bloc hosted on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which includes prominent Benue politicians like former Senate President David Mark and ex-Governor Gabriel Suswam.
“People are free to join any coalition that they so wish, but for me, and the people that I lead, we remain in PDP,”Ortom stated. “I’m the leader of PDP in Benue State and a member of the BoT. I am not joining any coalition. We have no business with that.”
He was, however, dismissive of the ADC-led coalition’s viability.
“I don’t see it surviving. In any case, even if they survive, if they are through with the litigation that is going on, they will be defeated hands down,” Ortom declared.
His comments came amid heightened political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with opposition leaders exploring new strategies to challenge the ruling APC.
