I’m Not Supporting Atiku Or Northern Presidency, Says Ortom

A former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, says he has no reason or plan to support the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar or any other northern candidate for President in 2027.

Ortom maintained that he remains committed to the Southern presidency in 2027.
The former governor said he stands with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyeson Wike, ahead of the forthcoming polls.

A group, the International Centre for Transparency Nigeria (ICTN), had said, among other things, that Ortom was involved in an arrangement to support former Atiku for the 2027 presidential election.
But in a statement issued yesterday by Ortom’s media aide, Zege Paul Terhide, the former governor described the allegation as false, baseless and inconsistent with his well-known and long-standing position on equity, fairness and justice in the leadership of Nigeria.

He said Ortom’s position on the presidency of Nigeria has not changed.

“Nigerians will recall that in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, Chief Ortom and four other governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who became 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,” Tehide said.

Ortom stated further, “Their position was never driven by personal animosity against any individual. It 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”

“Chief 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.

The statement added, “Chief Ortom 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 202. He therefore has no reason whatsoever to support Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or any other northern candidate for President in 2027,” the statement said.