Politics

Why G5 Betrayed Atiku, PDP In 2023 — Ortom

Published

2 months ago

July 18, 2025

Former Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, yesterday, explained why he and other members of the G5 Governors’ Forum opposed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 elections.

But in a push back, the former Vice President, described them as frustrated opportunists, who are searching for relevance.

Also, the PDP similarly, accused Ortom of acting out of personal interest rather than genuine concern for fairness and equity in the 2023 elections.

This came as a former Presidential aspirant, Mr Dele Momodu formally resigned from the PDP, citing what he described as the hijacking of the party by antidemocratic forces.

Ortom, a leading member of the G5 group of PDP governors, said the party’s failure to respect equity, fairness, and justice was the reason they chose to stand against it.

Speaking on Arise TV, yesterday, Ortom said the G5 had insisted that the presidency should shift to the South after eight years of Northern rule under President Muhammadu Buhari, but the PDP’s decision to field Atiku, also a Northerner, went against that principle.

“I acted as I did because we had expected the PDP to uphold equity, fairness, and justice, values I hold dear.

“When the majority of PDP members supported a Northern candidate, we deemed it unjust. We’ve always stood for equity, fairness, and justice, and we felt the presidency should alternate between the North and South for eight years each,” he said.

As chairman of the PDP’s zoning committee, Ortom noted that although the committee recommended an open contest, he personally pushed for a Southern candidate.

He stressed that the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, had the final say, which led to Atiku’s candidacy.

“I presented the committee’s report as it was, and the NEC made the final call. I couldn’t override the collective decision,” Ortom explained.

On the role of Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, in the crisis, Ortom revealed, “We fought for Wike to be the PDP’s presidential candidate, but unfortunately, he didn’t secure the nomination. We also believed he should have been the running mate. I was part of the 20-member committee tasked with selecting a running mate, and 16 of us supported Wike. However, the candidate and the party leadership decided otherwise.”

Ortom defended supporting opposition candidates in 2023, saying politics was based on interests. “Politics revolves around interests. There’s no permanent enemy or friend in politics. It’s about protecting the interests of your community, your people, and yourself,” he stated.

He also addressed criticism that he and Wike tried to “destroy” the PDP by supporting opposition candidates. Ortom compared their strategy to that of other PDP members who backed Peter Obi of the Labour Party or Bola Tinubu of the APC.

“Peter Obi wasn’t in the PDP, but we agreed on a strategic partnership to demonstrate our influence. Some of us supported Peter Obi, others supported Tinubu, and we ended up with the current government. If God has given us President Bola Tinubu, why shouldn’t we support him?” Ortom added.

Looking to the 2027 elections, Ortom reaffirmed his support for a Southern presidential candidate and stressed the importance of respecting power rotation.

“My position is clear. I will support a Southern candidate. I see no reason to support a Northern candidate in 2027. By 2031, if someone from the South expresses interest in the presidency, I will still advocate for it to shift to the North. That’s based on my belief in equity and fairness.”

Ortom on criticism over alleged bias in Benue State politics, where he is accused of favouring the Tiv ethnic group, said: “I’ve fought for fairness and have advised other ethnic groups on what they need to do. I agree it’s unfair for one group to dominate the governorship since the creation of Benue State. However, politics also involves the majority. The Tiv people occupy Zones A and B, while the Idoma and Igede are in Zone C. It’s a matter of political dynamics, and I’ve encouraged other groups to organise and assert themselves.”

On crisis in the PDP, he said: “As politicians, we understand that politics revolves around interests. There’s no permanent enemy or friend in politics. It’s about protecting the interests of your community, your people, and yourself.”

Ortom, others opportunists—Atiku

Reacting to Ortom’s claims, the former Vice President said there was nothing noble about the G5’s rebellion.
Atiku, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu said the Benue governor was trying to play the ostrich.

He said: “Let us be clear: there was nothing noble about the G5’s rebellion. It was not a stand for justice—it was a gamble rooted in personal ambition, ego, and frustration over political miscalculations. The PDP’s zoning committee, which Ortom himself chaired, recommended an open contest. That decision—adopted by NEC—was not imposed by Atiku Abubakar or any Northern bloc. It was a democratic resolution, endorsed by the party’s highest decision-making body. To now feign surprise or outrage over a process one midwifed is to play the ostrich.

“Furthermore, the notion that Atiku Abubakar was the continuation of ‘northern rule’ ignores the critical reality that Atiku is, first and foremost, a democrat—a bridge between regions, religions, and ideologies. His ambition has never been based on geography.

“As for Ortom’s newfound allegiance to a ‘Southern Presidency,’ the question must be asked: which South? In one breath, he endorsed Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and in the next, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Nyesom Wike, who threw his weight behind Bola Tinubu of the APC. This ideological hopscotch betrays not a devotion to justice, but an opportunistic drift in search of relevance.”

Their motives were self-serving— PDP

Similarly, the PDP tackled Ortom, accusing him and his group of acting out of personal interest rather than genuine concern for fairness and equity in the 2023 elections.

A member of PDP National Working Committee, NWC, who spoke to Vanguard in confidence, questioned Ortom’s motives and role in forming the G5 group, suggesting his opposition may have been more political than principled.

The party leader noted that Ortom and the then PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, are from the same local government area and ethnic group.

The NWC member said: “If Ortom is talking about fairness, he should remember that both he and Ayu come from the same place. He was the one who recommended Ayu for the chairmanship. There was no disagreement until Atiku emerged as the party’s candidate.

“Now that the PDP is planning to zone the presidential ticket to the South in 2027, will Ortom support the party? Will he go back on his endorsement of Tinubu and work for the PDP?

“Politics is about teamwork. One person’s opinion should not override the decisions of the majority. If you want to play solo, then start your party.”

The PDP urged Ortom and others to put aside personal ambitions and support the party’s rebuilding efforts ahead of the next general elections.
(VANGUARD)

Politics

90% Of Nigeria’s Elections Since Independence Rigged — Ex-lawmaker

Published

3 hours ago

September 28, 2025

Editor

A lawyer and former member of the National Assembly, Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah, has said that over ninety per cent of all elections so far held in Nigeria, from independence to date, have been brazenly rigged or perverted, thus causing the mass poverty and underdevelopment being experienced in the country.

Senator Obiorah, who represented Anambra South Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011 in the National Assembly, blamed the non-existence of honest, transparent, free and fair elections in Nigeria for the mass poverty and gross underdevelopment in the nation presently.

The lawyer and author stated this in his treatise on “The Philosophy of Elections and Nigeria’s Fake Democracy”, made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.

Worried by this development, the erstwhile federal lawmaker has proposed a constitutional amendment that will ensure the power to appoint electoral bodies – Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) – is taken away from both the President and Governors and vested in a neutral body which would set in motion processes to lift Nigeria out of poverty.

He stated that a proposed bill to that effect had already been sent to both the Senate and the House of Representatives for prompt legislative action.

He pointed out that had the people been allowed to exercise the power to freely elect their leaders since 1960, Nigeria would by now be a fully developed nation by first-world standards and in all ramifications.

According to him, “Since independence, 90 per cent of all elections – Parliamentary, Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship, House of Assembly, Local Government Council elections – have been brazenly stolen or rigged or perverted or altogether thwarted or nullified.

“Nigerians have never really and voluntarily chosen their leaders, nor have Nigerians ever been governed with their proper consent and participation. The absence of honest elections makes ours a fake democracy, period. In Nigeria, the simple but painful cause of stealing and rigging of elections is that those vested with power to appoint the electoral bodies and personnel were themselves or their political parties or their preferred candidates, contestants in the same elections. It is just like making a person a judge in his own case.

“Right from independence, the then Prime Minister, and later the President, was always cloaked with the power to appoint the commissioners and senior officers of the electoral bodies responsible for the conduct of all elections in Nigeria.

“However, by virtue of the 1999 Constitution, the power of appointing the state electoral bodies responsible for conducting local government elections was transferred to the State Governors. Consequently, the world has been witnessing the Soviet Union-style results declared from Nigeria’s local government elections, where the Governor’s political party, in most cases, scores a 100 per cent victory.

“The world has also been hearing loud cries and protestations against rigging and seeing the avalanche of court cases that attend all other elections in Nigeria for which the President appoints the electoral bodies and officers,” he noted.

He added that “it is very important to make the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results via INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) legally mandatory in the conduct of Nigerian elections.”

Senator Obiorah pointed out that “these systems cannot solve the problem of election rigging without the electoral bodies’ neutrality and integrity because BVAS and IReV are vulnerable to manipulation.”

As a way out of this problem, Senator Obiorah is proposing that the power for the appointment of electoral bodies be taken away from both the Governors and the President and vested in a neutral body which would set in motion processes to lift Nigeria out of poverty.

According to him, “I do, most humbly, propose a constitutional amendment to provide for the establishment of a new, truly and literally Independent National Electoral Commission (new INEC), charged with the responsibility of conducting all elections for all elected offices in the three tiers of government – the Federal, State and Local Government.

“I do, also, propose that the new INEC be composed and constituted by thirteen commissioners, six of whom would be elected by the underlisted six Nigerian labour and professional organisations, and six commissioners nominated by the United Nations, and one commissioner-observer nominated by Transparency International, totalling thirteen commissioners.

“The new INEC would have the power to elect and remove its Chairman and hire and fire all staff, including the Chief Executive Officer.

“The election of six commissioners by the underlisted Nigerian labour and professional organisations is arranged in a corresponding alphabetical order as follows:

READ ALS:

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North Central geopolitical zone;

The Academic Staff Union of Universities would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North East geopolitical zone;

The Institute of Chartered Accountants would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North West geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Bar Association would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South East geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Medical Association would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South South geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Union of Journalists would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South West geopolitical zone.

He clarified that nominations from the United Nations and Transparency International would definitely not violate Nigeria’s sovereignty, because those nominations would not be imposed by any sort of force; rather, it is Nigeria as a sovereign nation that would voluntarily request these nominations.

He stated further that the UN and Transparency International would be positively disposed to acceding to Nigeria’s request because, like other development institutions, they rightly regard stealing or rigging of elections as the worst and most destructive kind of all corrupt practices. He noted that the UN, having directly organised the establishment, manning and management of some anti-corruption programmes and institutions in various countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador, would be pleased to participate in such a liberating effort in Nigeria.

Senator Obiorah also recalled that the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, not long ago, dispatched a letter to the United Nations requesting the UN’s establishment and management of an International Commission against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, for which a memorandum of understanding has been signed by both parties in furtherance of that cooperation.

He added that the United Nations and Transparency International would not nominate any Nigerian citizen or any person indigenous to Nigeria, saying that “It would be the job of the President to receive and collate the names and curriculum vitae of the nominees for transmission to the Senate and House of Representatives for confirmation.

According to him, “No nominee or nominee-elect would be rejected or impeached by the National Assembly except by concurrent resolutions supported by at least two-thirds majority of all Senators and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives, respectively, voting individually in person by a secret ballot and televised in real time. Voice vote for this exercise would be prohibited.

“The tenure of office of a commissioner would not exceed four years. It must be made clear that the establishment of the new INEC would not be a setback in the strides for devolution of powers to the States.”

Politics

Probe Natasha’s Allegations Against Akpabio, Afenifere Urges FG

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has urged the Federal Government to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The call followed the Senate’s decision to lift Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.

This, Afenifere said should not overshadow the need to establish the truth of her claims.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Afenifere’s National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu, said the senator’s recall reflected commitment to the rule of law.

“We commend the Senate President, His Excellency Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate leadership for taking a decision that further reinforces the country’s rule of law,” Omololu said.

The group, however, insisted that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations must not be ignored.

“For over six months, where are the facts and evidence of her grave allegations?” Afenifere asked.

It called on the “Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to carry out a full investigation into the matter.”

Afenifere also recalled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s past false sexual harassment claims against former presidential aide Reno Omokri, which ended in an out-of-court settlement.

“Does this not suggest that, without proof, her allegations against Akpabio are suspicious?” Omololu asked.

The group further criticised Akpoti-Uduaghan for taking her claims to international media, including BBC, CNN, Sky News and Deutsche Welle, saying the move portrayed Nigeria negatively abroad.

It also queried her participation in a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York.

“If Natasha truly participated in the IPU meeting without due nomination, then it simply revealed her compromise or manipulation of our public institutions for pecuniary ends,” the group said.

In March 2025, Natasha was suspended for six months after a row in plenary and her petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.

She claimed the incident happened in December 2023, but the Senate’s Ethics Committee dismissed her petition on procedural grounds. Despite a court order halting disciplinary action, the Senate went ahead with her suspension, which also froze her pay and barred her from official duties.

Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged the suspension in court, insisting it was tied to her allegations. While the Senate said it acted over misconduct, the case attracted global attention after she granted interviews to international media. The matter remains unsettled, with Afenifere now urging federal authorities to investigate her claims.

Meanwhile, Natasha formally resumed her duties at the National Assembly on October 7, 2025, after her six-month suspension ended – and immediately claimed that Akpabio is a dictator.

And almost immediately, Akpabio’s media aide Kenny Okolugbo debunked the claim.

Politics

2027: Drama As Atiku Disowns Media Consultant Over Statement On Yoruba

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denied any association with a media consultant named Kola Johnson.

This is as he also rejected statements released by the media consultant on Wednesday that he would protect Yoruba interests if elected as president in 2027.

Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that “faceless mercenaries” are behind the false press statement just to discredit him.

He also dismissed the claim as “false and offensive,” describing it as part of a calculated propaganda project to ridicule him in the media.

The statement specifically mentioned one Kola Johnson, described as a “self-styled media consultant,” who allegedly released a publication claiming that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group.

The statement read, “Our findings point directly to the Presidency, which, in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate fake stories and circulate unauthorised statements on Atiku.

“Particularly offensive is the false claim attributed to this individual that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group. This disinformation is part of a calculated propaganda project designed to ridicule Atiku in the media.

“Let it be clear: Atiku Abubakar has never engaged one Kola Johnson as a media consultant, aide, or associate. Any statement issued in that name is fake and should be disregarded. We urge media houses that have published such falsehoods to immediately retract them.”

The statement also clarified that authentic information on the former Vice President is only released through his Media Adviser or Special Assistant on Public Communications.

“Editors and media gatekeepers are strongly advised to verify with the Atiku Media Office before publication,” the statement added.

It was widely reported on Wednesday that Atiku has assured people of the South-West geo-political zone that their interest would remain central to his policy direction if elected President in 2027, noting that his long-standing marital and cultural ties to the region make him family.

The report quoted a statement by one, Kola Johnson, as saying that the former Vice President spoke during an engagement with select stakeholders.

The report said Atiku described the people of the South-West as one of the finest species of the human race, noting that his marriage to a Yoruba woman in the 1970s forged a permanent bond between him and the Yorubas.

He dismissed fears of Hausa/Fulani domination under his leadership as unfounded, insisting that the Yoruba were his larger extended family and in-laws.

The former vice president added that his Yoruba connections extend beyond family, as some of his closest friends and associates were from the region.

“In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman, in the 70s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years old, and we are still together.

“Besides, the Yoruba are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your peril,” Atiku stated. “My Ijesha-born Yoruba wife is more than a wife to me. Aptly put, she is my Jewel of Inestimable value and anybody who knows about my family, even from a distance, can easily tell you this.”