Michael Aondoakaa, the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Benue State, has flatly denied any behind-the-scenes deal linking him, former Governor Samuel Ortom, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume to a 2027 presidential push for Atiku Abubakar.
The former Attorney General of the Federation was responding to allegations by a group calling itself the International Centre for Transparency Nigeria (ICTN), which claimed the three political heavyweights had struck a quiet agreement to back Atiku’s next White House-style bid for Aso Rock.
Aondoakaa brushed off the report as the work of a faceless outfit, insisting no such meeting, negotiation, or political understanding ever took place. He said the story was built on little more than hearsay and wild speculation.
“The attempt to portray me as a political bridge between Chief Ortom, Senator Akume, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not only false but devoid of any factual foundation,” he said in a statement.
He challenged the group to produce a shred of evidence: where was this arrangement discussed, when was it reached, and what role was he supposedly playing in it? So far, he noted, none has been offered.
Aondoakaa also pushed back on the effort to drag Akume, a key figure in the current administration, into what he called a “concoction.” Mentioning prominent names, he argued, does not turn fiction into fact.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there has been no meeting or arrangement involving Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, Chief Samuel Ortom, and Senator George Akume to work for the presidential ambition of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. No such arrangement exists,” he declared.
