Former Benue State Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, has come under fire over what critics describe as a “double political standard” after declaring support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (PBAT’s) 2027 re-election bid while simultaneously backing the presidential ambition of National Democratic Congress (NDC) chieftain Mr. Peter Obi.
The controversy followed Mr. Obi’s recent visit to Benue, which was reportedly marred by near-chaotic scenes. Chief Ortom later admitted he made his vehicle available to the former Anambra State governor during the visit. His media aide, Dr Terver Akase, however, dismissed attempts to attach political meaning to the gesture, describing it as an act of hospitality.
But speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Wednesday, September 9, Chief Ortom openly declared support for President Tinubu’s re-election, reigniting questions over where the former governor actually stands ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
It was not the first time Chief Ortom had publicly backed PBAT. At a political gathering in Port Harcourt organised by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, the former governor had said the G5 group would support Tinubu for a second term, describing the President as a seasoned administrator deserving eight years to address Nigeria’s challenges.
The latest position has therefore raised eyebrows, particularly because Chief Ortom was one of Mr. Obi’s prominent supporters in 2023, when he campaigned for the then Labour Party candidate as the preferred Christian alternative to the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Fr. Hyacinth Alia has described the simultaneous support for PBAT and Obi as a contradiction, with his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Sir Tersoo Kula, challenging Ortom to explain the “curious political arrangement.”
Sir Kula also questioned Ortom’s provision of campaign logistics for Mr. Obi, while Dr. Akase insisted that making a vehicle available to a fellow former governor could not reasonably be criminalised or politicised.
But Convener of the Benue Open Governance Society (BOGS), Mr Sam Agwa, said the controversy goes beyond the vehicle, describing Chief Ortom’s position as reflecting the “double standard” increasingly associated with Nigeria’s elite politics.
“Ortom is incidentally one of the leaders of the strategic partnerships being built that are compromising party discipline and order,” Mr. Agwa said. “To claim to be supporting Tinubu and Obi at the same time shows not just political mischief but a highly double standard.”
Mr. Agwa also argued that the situation was symptomatic of what he called an emerging political contradiction in Benue, where some political actors profess loyalty to Tinubu while simultaneously working against Governor Alia, the APC’s standard-bearer in the state.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Forestry, Mr Orkuma Adzua, offered a more colourful verdict, saying Obi’s visit had exposed a political arrangement in which Ortom was allegedly “doing Tinubu in the morning and Obi at night.”
For Mr. Adzua, the development could also have implications for FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, whose political alliance with Chief Ortom and other members of the former G5 has attracted considerable attention since the 2023 elections.
