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Vice Presidential candidate: Aggrieved governors not leaving PDP ― Ortom

Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) including Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Sam Ortom (Benue), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo) who are aggrieved over the selection of their Delta State counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa, as the presidential running mate of the party, have no plans to jump ship.

Governor Ortom revealed this on Thursday against mounting speculation that they may dump the main opposition party to protest the treatment meted out to Governor Wike by the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, despite emerging the choice of the PDP special selection committee for the position.

Recall that Atiku set aside the committee’s recommendation in preference for the Delta governor.

Some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors including Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have recently met with Wike in Port Harcourt in what was seen as an attempt to feed on his discontent with the PDP to woo him into the ruling party.

But speaking on Arise Television’s “Good Morning Show” monitored in Abuja on Thursday, Ortom, who campaigned vigorously for Wike to become the presidential running mate, affirmed that all three governors met and resolved to remain in the PDP.

However, the Benue governor stressed the need for the former vice president to meet and pacify Wike to enable the PDP to approach the 2023 presidential election as a formidable force as he noted that Nigerians are fed up with the APC administration.

Ortom stated: “Coming to why some of us were absent, I was not around, I travelled. This was a programme that was planned over three months ago. I had to go to the United Kingdom, I had to go to the United States of America. I actually met with Governor Wike in London and met with my brother, the Governor of Oyo state, Makinde and the Governor of Abia state. “That provided an opportunity to brainstorm on what was happening back home – in our party, the PDP especially.

“One thing I want to assure you and Nigerians is that we are not going to defect to any political party, we are members of PDP. Wike in particular has been very instrumental to the growth of our party in the absence of any former president produced by our great party – President Olusegun Obasanjo was produced by this party, you are aware that President Goodluck Jonathan also has issues and he decided not to get involved with what is happening in the party.

“So, Wike was the anchorman. We discussed this matter in our meeting in London and we all agreed we are not leaving the party. But let there be due process and the need to ensure that everybody is carried along.

“You are aware that since the emergence of PDP in Nigeria, Wike has been there. Even some of us because of the injustice meted out to us in 2016, we left for APC, until when APC started dancing in the wrong direction, we left back to PDP. And who was instrumental to me coming back, it was Wike.”

While noting that Atiku had also left the PDP at a point in time, he said Wike had remained in the party to sustain it.

Ortom added: “Our presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar too, at a point including our National Chairman today, we left for other parties, but Wike remained this party. So, it is a big factor. I have always said that power belongs to God.

“Wike contested, some of us believed in southern presidency and Wike we thought he was the right person to get the ticket, he did not get it.

“The issue of Vice President comes, I want to tell you that I was one of the people that were able to convince Wike that half a loaf is better than none. You wanted to be president but, God did not make it possible. There is nothing wrong with asking to be the vice president. Unfortunately, this did not work. I have explained what transpired the last time.”

On pacifying the Rivers governor who emerged as the first runners-up in the last presidential primary of the PDP, Ortom said the national leadership and party stakeholders must act to bring everyone together to rescue the country.

He further said: “We are still members of PDP, we are working together and we look forward that the leadership will do the needful to bring all of us together.

“Our presidential candidate has reached out to me to also further persuade Governor Wike that he’s coming to see him. They will sit down together and discuss. For me, that is the end of it.”

Continuing, he stated: “I took my time because at a time, I was not very clear about the happenings and I went into hibernation, but am out now. And my decision is that: let our presidential candidate discuss with Wike and once there is an agreement on what to do to move forward, we can work on that. Because I don’t like betraying people.

“Wike stood with me at my worst time in the history of my life when my state was under siege. He did everything including financial support to help the internally displaced people who have been suffering and visited with a team of stakeholders from Rivers State.

“The Bible says if somebody does something to you that is good, don’t reward him with evil. If you do that, evil will never depart from your house. I’m a student of the Bible, I’m a Christian and I don’t want God to hold me responsible for being irresponsible.”

He said the Rivers governor could not be ignored if the PDP wanted to achieve the desired success in 2023, saying: “I believe our presidential candidate will work with Wike, once they discuss, and he’s pacified, I will be pacified. I may not be speaking for my other colleagues with whom we are working together. But in our meeting, we agreed that our brother, Governor Wike needed to be pacified and once that is done, all of us we team up together.”

“Now, we don’t know where we are. We have been dropped from top to bottom. My worry is not just being at the bottom, we are going beneath the bottom. So, we need everybody to come together to see how we can rescue our country, Nigeria,” Ortom stated.

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