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PDP: Ortom Reveals Reason For Staunch Loyalty To Wike

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2 years ago

November 7, 2022

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Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has said that he cannot desert Nyesom Wike of Rivers State ahead of the general elections in 2023 because he has proven to be a dependable and trustworthy ally.

Ortom states this on Sunday in Makurdi at a feast in honour of governors Wike, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Seyi Makinde, and Okezie Ikpeazu.

He said that Wike was the first to denounce a bandit attack on him that was thought to be the work of Fulani herdsmen.

“When Benue was under siege, he donated N250million and he subsequently spent over N700million to support the State to tackle the humanitarian crisis occasioned by the unwarranted attacks,” Ortom said.

“He didn’t stop at that. He convinced Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom to also assist the state and he donated N200million to us.

“Is he not a worthy friend? He’s a worthy friend and we’re working together to liberate the country,” he added.

Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee for president, was also rejected by Ortom, who emphasised that any of the PDP candidate’s followers are his adversaries.

“I’m not going to support any Fulani man to continue to do injustice to my people unless my people tell me to do otherwise,” Ortom said.

Wike responded on behalf of the visiting governors, expressing gratitude to Ortom for the honour bestowed upon them.

He said, “People want to break us but they cannot, we are bonded; therefore, we cannot be separated.”

Last week, Ortom warned the leadership of the PDP that the party would lose the 2023 presidential election if it continues to ignore the complaints and demands put forward by the five ‘recalcitrant’ governors elected on the platform of the party, now popularly called ‘G-5’ led by Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

Governor Ortom who spoke at the inauguration of the State PDP Campaign Council and Campaign Management Committee at the party’s state secretariat in Makurdi on Tuesday said it would be impossible for the PDP to win the presidency if it continues to call the bluff of the Wike-led G-5.