Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has said he would not join issues with Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP).
He said the above over his choice of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, as his vice-presidential candidate for the 2023 general election.
It could be recalled that Governor Ortom had late last month in an interview on Arise Television accused Atiku of rejecting the recommendation of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State as the party’s presidential running mate by the committee set up by the party National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
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But, Atiku while speaking on Friday Arise TV described as untrue the statement by the Benue State Governor that he jettisoned the recommendation of the PDP committee on the selection of the party’s vice presidential candidate.
Reacting to Atiku’s claim, Ortom who spoke with journalists in Markurdi disclosed that the matter has already being addressed as a family matter.
He said:
I wouldn’t want to contradict my presidential candidate. Whatever happens rightly or wrongly, I accept it. We’re the same family, we will find a way of resolving our matter.
There was no voting. I can give you a copy of the report of the committee. The committee that presented the three nominees was chaired by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom. They recommended three people, so I picked one.
He added however that Wike was already being pacified by the PDP presidential candidate over the issues he had raised.
Ortom noted:
All that I wanted should be done (for Wike). He (Atiku) has agreed and they are talking.
Taking to his verified Twitter handle, he also wrote:
I will not contradict @atiku on what he said. He is my candidate, and I am behind him.
Whatever happened in the course of the primaries and nomination of the Presidential running mate is now a thing of the past. PDP is a family, and we will always settle our matters in-house.
I will not contradict @atiku on what he said. He is my candidate and I am behind him. Whatever happened in the course of the primaries and nomination of the Presidential running mate is now a thing of the past. PDP is a family, and we will always settle our matters in-house.
— Samuel Ortom (@GovSamuelOrtom) July 25, 2022
