Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and former Minister of Information and leader of the South-South region of Nigeria, Chief Edwin Clark, on Tuesday toed the path of former President Olusegun Obasanjo by endorsing the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
Ortom, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, hailed Obasanjo for endorsing Obi on Sunday, affirming that Obi would provide the leadership that Nigerians desire.
He added that if he were not a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.
The Governor said Obi is the man who can effectively tackle the economic, security and other challenges facing the country.
He said Obi possesses leadership qualities and guarantees justice, equity and fairness for all Nigerians.
Ortom stressed that for some years, the country had been tottering on the verge of collapse owing to leadership failure and its attendant consequences of poverty, heightened insecurity with banditry, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism threatening the foundations of the nation.
Similarly, an elder statesman, Edwin Clark, told journalists in Abuja that Obi has better plans for the South-South and Nigeria at large and should be voted for on February 25.
Clark, who is a leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said Peter Obi’s commitment to environmental justice to the clean-up of the Niger Delta polluted communities if elected, is most welcomed, stressing that the ongoing Ogoni clean-up has been rather slow.
“Peter Obi’s unwavering commitment to reactivation of our ports, development of blue economy and maritime sector, and investment in gas sector developing of modular refineries are worthy of note.
“I formally hereby announce that I will, therefore, personally, vote for HE Peter Obi and his Vice Presidential candidate on election day, 25th February 2023, as President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“His commitment to inclusion of qualified persons from the Niger Delta in the national governance process in the future government if elected into power is very reassuring.”
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said Ortom has not endorsed Obi.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, stated that Ortom only said he would have campaigned for Obi if he were not a member of the PDP.
The PDP Spokesperson said: “What Governor Ortom said was that if he were not in PDP, he would come out and campaign for him (Obi). But the Benue State governor is in PDP so he did not endorse him.”