The governor of Benue, Samuel Ortom, has stated that he is willing to give up his senatorial bid for Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate (LP).
Ortom, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is running for the Senate seat in Benue north-west.
He is also a member of a group of five PDP governors at odds with the party’s national leadership.
Monday, Ortom told members of the Igbo community in Benue that supporting the LP candidate in advance of the election is “an opportunity that should not be squandered.”
“For me, it is not even that I am running for office. Yes, the form was purchased for me by the citizens of the state of Benue. “I’ve gone around, and they’ve agreed to vote for me,” he stated.
“However, if I must sacrifice my senatorial ambitions in order for Peter Obi to win, then be it. I am aware that if any group of people in this globe are connected, it is the Igbo. This is your chance to proclaim that an Igbo man from the South-East is the president.
“Therefore, let us not squander this chance that God himself is providing. The youth and my own people have informed me – local stakeholders, traditional leaders, and party members from across the political spectrum. Obi’s situation has nothing to do with APC, PDP, SDP, or any other party. It relates to Nigeria.
“Therefore, when I hear prominent Igbo figures criticizing Peter Obi for running for office, I think to myself, ‘Have you not been complaining since the end of the war that you have been marginalized?’
“The opportunity has arrived today, yet you continue to grumble. What do you desire? What are you trying to find?
“The entire nation – north, south, east, and west – is in favor of Peter Obi, yet you hear some people say, ‘We don’t want it.’ Haba! These individuals should be shunned.”
This comes days after the governor of Benue endorsed Obi’s presidential bid at a Makurdi town hall gathering.
Ortom’s support for Obi was based on the failure of the PDP and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to provide for the wellbeing of Nigerians.