Ex-Nigerian Governor Announces Preferred Presidential Candidate Ahead of 2027, "I Don't Regret It"
- Former Benue governor Samuel Ortom declared his support for President Tinubu's 2027 re-election bid during an interview on ARISE News
- Ortom said he backed Peter Obi in 2023 but shifted his position after Tinubu won and Nyesom Wike was appointed FCT minister
- The former governor also levelled several allegations against incumbent Benue governor Hyacinth Alia over governance failures
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Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has publicly declared that he stands by his decision to back President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying he has no regrets about the position he took.
Ortom made the declaration during an interview on ARISE News, where he addressed the political climate in Benue state, his relationship with current governor Hyacinth Alia, and his preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Source: UGC
The former governor explained that his support for Tinubu was a calculated political move taken after Nigerians delivered their mandate in 2023.
He acknowledged voting for Labour Party candidate Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election but said his stance changed once Tinubu was inaugurated as president.
"In 2023, I supported Obi. When Nigerians spoke and President Tinubu was president, I said, 'If you can't beat them, you join them.' I want to assure you that I remain committed with our national leader, Nyesom Wike, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, that I, Samuel Ortom, and my people here in Benue State, as far as we are concerned, we're working for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu," he said.
Ortom said the timing of his public declaration coincided with Wike's appointment as FCT Minister, and that he continues to align himself with the former Rivers State governor and the movement around him in Benue.
Ortom's allegations against governor Alia
Beyond presidential politics, Ortom used the interview to raise a string of concerns about the administration of Governor Alia, his successor in Benue. He accused the governor of undermining the rule of law, targeting political opponents, and failing to implement local government autonomy in the state.
He further alleged that 23 government vehicles, which a court ordered to be returned to him and other former government officials who received them at the end of their tenures, had not been handed back despite the judgment.
Ortom also said he had tried to build a working relationship with Alia following the 2023 election, offering his counsel and experience to the new administration.
According to him, those overtures went unanswered, as Alia neither returned his calls nor created space for engagement.
He said the 2027 elections would allow Benue voters to pass their verdict on the Alia administration. In addition to backing Tinubu for president, Ortom said he would support his preferred candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and the Benue State House of Assembly.
"I made a statement, and I have no regret making that statement, that 2027 some of us will support Tinubu to win," Ortom said.
6 governors endorse Tinubu
Previously, Legit.ng reported that the South-South Governors' Forum convened in Calabar, Cross River State, on Thursday, September 3, where the six governors of the region formally declared their support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's re-election in 2027 and laid out key development demands for the zone.
Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri, who chairs the Forum, read the communiqué on behalf of all members at the close of the summit.
Source: Legit.ng
