Former Governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom has dismissed as ‘unfounded’ and ‘cheap blackmail’, an allegation reportedly made by the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar saying that he (Ortom) and his colleagues in the G-5 worked against him during the last election but have ongoing corruption cases at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and are being protected by President Bola Tinubu.
Ortom’s Media aide Terver Akase in a press statement wondered if Atiku consented to such a statement by his special Assistant on Public Communication, maintaining that if he did, he would have refrained from blaming the G-5 for his loss at the polls.
Ortom maintained that the former VP 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 key stakeholders including five sitting Governors and many other members of his party, adding that what 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 and Nigerians saw the indisputable facts contained in the position of the Integrity Group and voted for a presidential candidate from the south.
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.”The statement read in part.
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He gave other reasons for Atiku’s attack on the former Benue State Governor including his boldness to speak truth to his face and rebuke him for making unstatesmanlike comments regarding the killing of Benue people by Fulani herdsmen.
He insist that the PDP Presidential candidate is on record to have expressed bitterness towards Ortom for daring to enact a law to prohibit open grazing of livestock in the state.
Akase noted that the former Vice President’s diatribe against Ortom can therefore be understood as the manifestation of frustration for losing the 2023 election.
He said 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.
He goes on to state that the role of anti-graft agencies is to investigate allegations of corruption adding that 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 statement ended.
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
