Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has reiterated his commitment to supporting a southern presidential candidate in the 2027 general elections, emphasizing the need for equity and fairness in Nigeria’s power rotation.
Speaking during his first media chat since leaving office in 2023, Ortom stated in Makurdi on Thursday that his stance stems from a belief in Nigeria’s unity through balanced leadership representation.
“There is an unwritten constitution in this country that the north should rule for eight years and the south for eight years,” he said.
The former governor, who sacrificed his senatorial ambition in 2023 to back southern presidency aspirations, maintained: “Anything that is not a southern presidency I’m not in. It is wrong; we must work together as a people for our unity and diversity. The common thing we have agreed on in this country is eight years for the north and eight for the south.”
However, Ortom left room for exceptional circumstances, noting: “But if we have a credible candidate whom we believe has the capacity to perform more than the sitting president in our party in 2027, we will support the candidate. But if we don’t have one, we will support any good candidate in 2027 that is from the south.”
Addressing the ongoing political realignments, Ortom dismissed interest in the African Democratic Congress coalition, affirming his loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party. “I remain a bona fide member of the People’s Democratic Party, adding that he is the leader of the party in Benue and a BOT member at the national level,” he stated.
The former governor framed political movements pragmatically: “Politics is a game of interest. There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. What you are seeing is a normal thing in politics; nothing new.” While not ruling out future alliances, he clarified: “I don’t believe in coalition. There is nothing like a coalition at the moment. We are not doing a coalition with anybody.”
Ortom’s comments come amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with his emphasis on power rotation reflecting ongoing national debates about equitable leadership distribution between Nigeria’s northern and southern regions.