The governor of Benue state, Hyaccinth Alia is reportedly considering defecting from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) amid his feud with the secretary to the government of the federation, Senator George Akume.
Reports suggest that governor Hyacinth Alia is strongly considering leaving the APC to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) due to his soured relationship with his erstwhile godfather, senator George Akume who according to speculations, wants greater control over the governor.
Hence, governor Alia is said to be in consultation with the leadership of the ADC in Benue state to facilitate his defection.
An unnamed source claims that former governor of Benue state and member of the People’s Democratic Party, Gabriel Suswam is currently mediating between the governor and the leadership of the ADC to facilitate his joining the party.
Reliant.ng learnt that governor Alia was absent at the recently held national APC submit where president Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reelection bid in 2027 received endorsement from the APC lawmakers and party’s leaders. While some sources claim the governor arrived at the submit very late, after president Bola Ahmed Tinubu had been endorsed, others claim the governor did not attend the submit in protest against the APC’s leadership’s rejection of his request to be the party’s 2027 governorship candidate in Benue.
The governor had requested that the party’s leadership guarantee his political future by declaring him the the party’s 2027 governorship candidate for Benue state; a request which was rejected by the party’s state and national leadership, signifying that the governor will be denied the party’s ticket to seek reelection in 2027.
The party’s state structure is currently being controlled by SGF, George Akume despite governor Alia’s effort to retrieve the party’s structure from him. The governor who is currently running a parallel APC in Benue state, had attempted to remove the state’s part chairman, Austin Agada who is a staunch loyalist to George Akume, but failed.
The Federal High Court in Makurdi in its ruling on November 28, 2024, returned Austin Agada as the party’s state’s chairman. Subsequently, governor Alia unable to have the State’s party structure in his control, is seeking an alternative party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, a member of governor Alia’s cabinet who claims that he has not been authorized to speak on the matter, stated that the governor is not in any talks with the ADC leaders. He said the Benue state government will release an official statement to debunk the speculation about his defection from APC.
Governor Hyacinth Alia and Senator George Akume’s political feud began almost immediately after Alia’s inauguration in 2023. Reports claim that Senator George Akume who had funded Alia’s election and is positioned as his political godfather, wanted a greater control over the governor than the governor was willing to yield.
Recall that the governor had raised alarm over protests in the state calling for his suspension over insecurity and k!llings in the state. According to him, those calling for state of emergency in Benue state were enemies of the state who wanted to destabilize the state by their false and divisive claims.
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