Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for re-election in 2027, saying he has no regrets about the decision.

Ortom made his position known during an interview with ARISE News while discussing the 2027 presidential election, the political situation in Benue State and his relationship with Governor Hyacinth Alia.

The former governor said his decision to back Tinubu was a deliberate political choice following the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, in which Nigerians elected the former Lagos State governor as president.

Ortom said he supported Peter Obi in the 2023 election but changed his political position after Tinubu emerged victorious.

He explained that he publicly declared his intention to support Tinubu for 2027 after his former G5 colleague, Nyesom Wike, was appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Ortom said he remained politically aligned with Wike and was working with his supporters in Benue State towards Tinubu’s re-election.

He said his decision to support Tinubu was based on accepting the outcome of the 2023 election and working with the administration that emerged from it.

On the 2027 Benue governorship election, however, Ortom criticised Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration, accusing it of failing to uphold the rule of law and allegedly using state institutions against political opponents.

He also claimed that local government autonomy was not being implemented in the state and alleged that the administration had not held a stakeholders’ meeting involving different political interests since taking office.

The former governor further alleged that Alia had not returned 23 government vehicles despite a court judgment ordering their release.

Ortom maintained that the vehicles had been lawfully allocated to him and other former government officials at the end of their tenure.

He also said he initially sought to maintain a cordial relationship with Alia after the 2023 election, offering to advise and support the new administration.

According to Ortom, those efforts did not yield results as he claimed the governor neither returned his calls nor provided an opportunity for further engagement.

The former governor said the 2027 election would give the people of Benue an opportunity to assess the performance of the Alia administration.

He added that he would support his preferred candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly elections while maintaining his support for Tinubu at the presidential level.