Samuel Ortom, a former governor of Benue State, claimed that Atiku Abubakar, the PDP nominee for president in 2023, is enraged because he and the other G5 governors rejected him.
Ortom was responding to Atiku’s accusation that he and the other G-5 members were looking for a position in the Federal Government and protection from prosecution in a statement delivered through his media assistant, Phrank Shaibu.
The presidential candidate should be concerned, according to Ortom, about why the G-5 and other integrity group members rejected his bid.
According to Atiku, the former governor of Benue was among the worst governors in Nigerian history, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has a large case file for him.
However, in response, Ortom reaffirmed the G-5’s position and claimed that the group stood for justice, equity, and fairness. He also asserted that the 2023 presidency must be won by a candidate from the south of Nigeria because Nigerians had already recognized the undeniable truths in the Integrity Group’s position.
The statement partly read, “Atiku is angry because Governor Ortom and his colleagues in the G-5 refused to be used by him as ‘Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)’ to circumvent and thwart the resolve of Nigerians to produce a President from the southern region.
“Another reason for Atiku’s attack on Chief Ortom is the former Benue State Governor’s boldness to speak truth to his face and rebuke him for making unstatesmanlike comments regarding the killing of Benue people by Fulani herdsmen. Atiku is on record to have expressed bitterness towards Ortom for daring to enact a law to prohibit open grazing of livestock in the state.
“The former Vice President’s diatribe against Chief Ortom can therefore be understood as the manifestation of frustration for losing the 2023 election. His failure to humble himself and unite the PDP, opting to remain haughty even when the signals were clear that he was heading for defeat summarized his performance in the last election.
“Atiku lacks the moral ground to accuse anyone else of corruption. The words of his erstwhile principal, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who described him as a very corrupt man have remained indelible and incontrovertible. Chief Obasanjo, in his book, ‘My Watch’ states on pages 191-192 thus:
“Atiku Abubakar’s name was among the names sent to us. Up to that time, EFCC had enjoyed close cooperation and collaboration with law enforcement agencies in the UK and the USA. I gave the green light to Nuhu for the investigation as requested by the authorities and forwarded his report to the USA. The report was uncomfortable and unsavoury about Atiku and his associates. I thought it was bad enough that the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was under investigation for corruption when my Administration had made fighting corruption one of its cardinal objectives. As it turned out, the investigation in Nigeria and in the US led to Atiku’s house being searched by the US Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It was so embarrassing for our Administration and Embassy in Washington…”
Ortom admitted that he honoured the invitation of the anti-graft agency saying, “The role of anti-graft agencies was to investigate allegations of corruption. Whenever they invite someone, such a person has to honour the invitation. As a man who believes in the rule of law, Chief Ortom willingly visited EFCC when the Commission sought clarifications on the actions of his administration.”
The former governor urged Nigerians to disregard the allegation by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar against him describing it as unfounded and tantamount to cheap blackmail.
