The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Thursday refuted allegations of a rift between the G5 – five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors abstinent from campaigns for the party’s presidential campaign, Atiku Abubakar.
Aside from Ortom, the G5 includes Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikepazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
The Benue governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, described an online medium as peddling barefaced lies.
“The publication ‘quoted’ Governor Ortom as saying that the four members of the G-5 were in sharp disagreement with Governor Wike for opting to support the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu against the earlier decision of the group to support Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi,” it read.
“The said publication is apparently the handiwork of those who hate to see the G-5 together. The quotations attributed to Governor Ortom in the report are as fictitious as the publication itself. Those who want to see the G-5 split have run out of ideas and resorted to manufacturing fake news against the group.”
According to the statement, Ortom has always stated that the G5 is not pursuing personal interests.
The governor noted that though members of the group may have peculiarities in their opinions about the presidential candidates, “they remain united and committed to justice, equity and fairness as the hallmarks of democracy”.
What the G5 stands for is beyond the 2023 elections, he added.
“We advise the general public to disregard the publication and the statements credited to Governor Ortom as contained in it,” Ortom said.