G5: ‘I’m Not Defeated’, Ortom Insists After Losing Senatorial Bid

The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, says he is undeterred in his advocacy for equity, justice and fairness despite losing his senatorial bid in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

The governor spoke on Tuesday, while commissioning Government Secondary School, Kpor in Gokana Local Government Area (LGA), according to a a statement Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur.

Ortom is a member of the G5, a group of five aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors including Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), who refused to campaign for their party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

While Ortom openly backed the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, there are strong indications that some other members of the G5 worked for Bola Tinubu of the the All Progressives Congress (APC), who emerged the winner.

In the lead-up to the elections, the Benue governor staked his senatorial ambition on hope of Obi’s victory. However, both Ortom and Obi lost the polls.

“I am not defeated and I stand tall and I am proud of associating with Governor Nyesome Wike and many others who have chosen to stand by the truth and to ensure equity, fairness, and justice for this country,” Ortom was quoted as saying.

“We have everything we need in Nigeria, what is lacking is equity, fairness, and justice and I am very proud that right from the beginning, I stood firm and said after eight years of Presidency in the North, another eight years should go to the South and I am happy that today this is where we are.”

The governor also commended the people of Rivers State for standing with Wike and supporting him in all his aspirations, describing him as “a great Nigerian, a patriot, a man that believes in equity, fairness, and justice.”

One of the main demands of the G5 was that the resignation of the former National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to honour the party’s constitutional provisions on zoning, as both he and Atiku hail from the North.

After a months-long feud between the G5 and the national leadership of the PDP, Ayu stepped aside last week.