By Funso Alarape
January 7, 2024
Former Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom has predicted that there would not be a vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027 because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be supported to spend 8 years in office.
Ortom who stated this on Sunday at a luncheon hosted by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyensom Wike in Port Harcourt, Rivers State said that the G5 group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The former governor claimed that Wike who is the leader of the G5 had already made a declaration that in 2027, ” we are supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Ortom said, “If we work to ensure Bola Ahmed succeeds, there will be tomorrow for anybody to even contest the election at all.
“We have nowhere to go because that is what Nigerians believe.
Wike, an ex-governor of Rivers donned a black shirt and a butter-coloured jacket and was flanked by Ortom and another G5 member, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu)at the luncheon.
The G5, a group of five then-governors within the PDP, rejected Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate before the 2023 poll last February. The G5 backed a southern candidate in the person of Tinubu.
The G5 includes Ortom, Wike, Ugwuanyi, Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo). All the members of the group finished their second term of eight years as governor last May except Makinde who is now in his second term.
Addressing the gathering crowded with Wike’s allies on Sunday, Ortom said the G5 has no regret for supporting Tinubu’s victory in the last poll, declaring that the group will again back the ex-Lagos governor for a second term in office as Nigeria’s President.
Ortom said, “If we work to ensure Bola Ahmed succeeds, there will be tomorrow for anybody to even contest the election at all.
“Our leader, Nyesom Wike, has already made a declaration that in 2027, we are supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We have nowhere to go because that is what Nigerians believe. Even the past administration that took Nigeria from top to bottom, we allowed them to work for eight years. So, why can’t a seasoned administrator in the person President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rule us for eight years?” he asked, assuring Nigerians that Tinubu will fix security, economy, and other critical areas.