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Ortom was reacting to some reports that the aggrieved governors had resolved to withdraw the condition given to the presidential candidate- resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as national chairman- and have decided to support him.
The report emanated from the meeting the governors held with PDP stakeholders in Benue on Monday.
Ortom via his adviser on media and publicity, Terver Akase, described the report as “false and mischievous.”
The governor said the report was for “selfish purposes”, aimed at embarrassing him.
He said, “We read a fictitious online report which claimed that the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, and his colleagues in the G5 have resolved to work for the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to win the 2023 election,” the statement reads.
“Manufacturers of the said report were apparently on a desperate mission to score a cheap political point.
He explained that when he “met with the expanded state caucus of PDP yesterday, January 9, 2023, at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, his message to them was crystal clear that the national leadership of PDP has failed to utilise its internal conflict resolution mechanism which has led to the crisis rocking the party.”
He said he warned again during the meeting that if the crisis was not resolved before the elections, he would be left with no other option than to take a stand on the matter.
He added, however, that he would not impose his decision on members of the party in the state.
“Stakeholders present at the meeting commended the governor for his patriotic disposition and pledged to line up behind him.
“The stakeholders pledged to find ways of resolving the internal crisis rocking the party while assuring the Governor that they would continue to stand with him through thick and thin. Governor Ortom did not address the press after the meeting.
“The online report is, therefore, fake and should be disregarded.”
The crisis in the PDP which led to the formation of the G5 emanated from the defeat of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike’s failure to clinch the presidential ticket of the party during its primary election.
He was further aggrieved that Ayu compromised the electoral process and even went the following morning to hail Aminu Tambuwal, the Sokoto State Governor, who was also an aspirant but stepped down in the last minutes for Atiku to win the ticket.
Wike said Ayu should therefore resign otherwise, he alongside his agents and supporters would not support the candidate of the party.
He rallied four more governors which include Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and Ortom, to announce a boycott of the presidential campaign of the party.
The group is currently negotiating with some top presidential candidates to provide support.
Ortom who has been consistent in his admiration of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, however denounced the report that their failure to announce their preferred candidate meant the group had agreed to support Atiku.
The governor said “the report could not mention the place and date of the said meeting of G5 Governors.
“The writers only sought to take advantage of the crisis within the PDP for their selfish purposes,” he said.
“Governor Ortom and other members of the G5 have not endorsed the said presidential candidate,” he declared.
