No Regrets Working Against Atiku in 2023, ADC Coalition Will Collapse — Ortom
Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom says he has no regrets about opposing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election, despite Atiku being the flag bearer of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“I did not hide it. I have no regret,” Ortom said on Monday.
Ortom was one of the five PDP governors, known as the G5, who openly rejected Atiku’s candidacy and instead backed Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The former governor maintained that supporting another candidate was not a betrayal of his party.
“Which betrayal?” he asked. “Pursuing my interest and the interest of my people? Politics is about doing what your people want — not what you want.”
“If someone is working against my people’s interest, I will resist that. Politics is a game of interests, and that was our position.”
Ortom also criticized the idea of another northerner succeeding Muhammadu Buhari after eight years in power, saying it went against the principles of equity, fairness, and justice.
“How do you justify a situation where a northerner has ruled for eight years and another northerner, from the same ethnic group, wants to take over? Our democracy hasn’t matured to that level.”
“It’s part of our unwritten political arrangement that power should rotate — eight years for the North, eight years for the South. That’s why we supported a southern candidate.”
Despite his past opposition to Atiku, Ortom said he remains a loyal member of the PDP and has no intention of leaving the party.
He also dismissed the newly formed opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) — unveiled by prominent Benue politicians including David Mark and Gabriel Suswam — predicting it won’t survive.
“People are free to join any coalition they like. But for me and those I lead, we remain in the PDP. I’m the PDP leader in Benue State and a member of the Board of Trustees.”
“I’m not part of any coalition. We have no business with that. I don’t see it surviving.”
“And even if it does survive, once the legal issues are settled, they’ll be defeated hands down.”