I have no regrets supporting Tinubu over Atiku in 2023 – Ortom

Former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has declared that he has no regrets for backing President Bola Tinubu against his own party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 general election.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Ortom affirmed, “I did not hide it. I have no regret.”

Ortom was part of the influential G5 group of former governors who publicly opposed Atiku’s candidacy under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and threw their weight behind the then-All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Tinubu.

Defending his stance, Ortom rejected the notion that he betrayed his party. “Which betrayal?” he asked. “Pursuing my interest and the interest of my people? The interest of my people is that you provide what they want. Politics is a game of interest, and if I have somebody working against my interest and the interest of my people, I have to fight back.”

He criticized the idea of a northerner succeeding another northerner in the presidency, referencing the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku’s 2023 ambition. “We were preaching equity, fairness and justice,” Ortom said. “How can you explain that a northerner was president for eight years, and another northerner, from the same region, will follow for another four or eight years? Our democracy has not reached that level.”

He emphasized that his support for a southern presidency was rooted in fairness, citing an “unwritten constitution” that prescribes a rotational presidency between the North and South.

Despite ongoing realignments in the opposition, Ortom said he remains committed to the PDP. He dismissed the new coalition being floated under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) — which includes prominent Benue figures like David Mark and Gabriel Suswam — as unsustainable.

“I’m the leader of the PDP in Benue State and a member of the BoT,” he stated. “I am not joining any coalition. We have no business with that. I don’t see it surviving. Even if it survives and they succeed with the litigation going on, they will still be defeated hands down.”