2023 Elections: Ortom Dispels G5 Disunity Allegations

The five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who abstained from supporting the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, have been accused of having a schism, but Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom disputed the claims on Thursday.

The G5 also consists of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Seyi Makinde, Nyesom Wike, and Ortom (Rivers, Oyo, and Abia) (Enugu).

The governor of Benue referred to an online platform as selling outright lies in a statement made by Terver Akase, his Special Advisor for Media and Publicity.

The statement continued, “The magazine ‘quoted’ Governor Ortom as saying that the four G-5 members were in stern disagreement with Governor Wike for choosing to support Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress over Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

“It appears that individuals who detest the G-5 meeting together are behind the aforementioned publication. The quotations in the report that Governor Ortom is said to have made are just as false as the whole thing. The G-5 split advocates have run out of options and have turned to fabricating false information on the group.

Ortom has allegedly always asserted that the G5 is not working to further its own interests.

Although the group’s members may have odd views on the candidates for president, the governor stated that “they remain united and committed to justice, equity, and fairness as the cornerstones of democracy.”

Beyond the elections in 2023, he continued, is what the G5 stands for.

“We advise the general public to ignore the publication and the words attributed to Governor Ortom as they are contained in it,” the statement read.