You are the first presidential candidate to be rejected by your party: Ortom.

The immediate past governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom, says former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ought to be worried about being the first presidential candidate of a leading political party to be rejected by critical stakeholders.

Ortom’s reaction followed a statement allegedly credited to the former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

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In a statement on Wednesday through his media aide, Terver Akase, Ortom debunked the comment Atiku who said the G-5 worked against him had ongoing corruption cases at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) but were being protected by President Bola Tinubu.

“We are not sure that the Special Assistant on Public Communication to the PDP presidential candidate got his consent before making the statement; if he did, he would have refrained from blaming the G-5 for his loss at the polls.”

“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar ought to be worried more that he has gone into history as the first presidential candidate of a leading political party to be rejected by critical stakeholders, including five sitting Governors and many other party members.

“The question that should bother him is, why did the G-5 and other members of the Integrity Group reject his candidacy? The group stood for justice, equity and fairness that the 2023 presidency must go to the southern part of the country. Nigerians saw the indisputable facts contained in the position of the Integrity Group and voted for a presidential candidate from the south.”

He said Atiku is angry because Governor Ortom and his colleagues in the G-5 refused to be used 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 herdsmen. Atiku is on record to have expressed bitterness towards Ortom for daring to enact a law prohibiting livestock grazing 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 statement read.

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