Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has said that he won’t impose his preferred presidential candidate on members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his state.
Ortom who was reacting to a viral report that the G-5 governors have endorsed the presidential candidate of PDP,Atiku Abubakar said contrary to a viral report he and his colleagues have not endorsed Atiku.
The governor made this known in a statement on Tuesday by his media Aide, Terver Akase, said the report was not only false but also mischievous as it was targeted at embarrassing the five governors of the PDP known as the G5 who have chosen the path of justice, fairness and equity.
“When the Governor met with the expanded state caucus of PDP yesterday January 9, 2023 at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, his message to them was crystal clear that the national leadership of PDP has failed to utilize its internal conflict resolution mechanism which has led to the crisis rocking the party,” the statement read in part
“The Governor said during the meeting that if the crisis is not resolved before the elections, he would be left with no other option than to take a stand on the matter.
“He added however that he wouldn’t impose his decision on members of the party in the state.”
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“Governor Ortom did not address the press after the meeting. The report is therefore fake and should be disregarded.”
For months, the G-5 governors otherwise known as “Integrity Group” have been at loggerheads with Atiku and Iyorchia Ayu over the chairmanship of the latter.
The five dissatisfied governors want Ayu to step down for a southerner as a precondition to support Atiku’s presidential bid.
But Ayu has insisted that he would only resign after his four-year constitutional term.
The governors include; Nyesome Wike of Rivers State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State,Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.