The growing division within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State has reached a troubling stage. It is my considered view that only divine intervention or decisive leadership from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can restore lasting unity within the party.
Governor Hyacinth Alia’s emergence under the APC was not without struggle. It is widely acknowledged that Senator George Akume fought numerous legal battles to secure Alia’s candidacy on the party’s platform. That history cannot be ignored, and it makes the present tension even more concerning.
Since the assumption of office, concerns have arisen regarding governance structure and party inclusion. It is public knowledge that shortly after taking office, the Governor appointed mostly individuals closely associated with him prior to his entry into partisan politics, particularly those from his former religious circle. In some cases, individuals within his immediate circle are said to hold multiple appointments.
More significantly, many long-standing APC members in Benue feel sidelined. Their only “offence” appears to be that they were members of the APC before Governor Alia joined the party and that they have refused to align with what is perceived as a parallel structure, where loyalty to one camp determines access to participation in government. Naturally, such a situation breeds resentment and deepens division.
This raises a fundamental question:
How can unity be preached without addressing the root causes of discontent?
To this day, Governor Alia has not clearly stated the offences of Senator George Akume. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) does not deserve public humiliation from a government whose emergence he strongly supported. Politics requires gratitude, maturity, and mutual respect.
On one occasion when the Governor visited me, I asked him directly what he had done to Senator Akume that he is not satisfied, what are his actual demands. The Governor did not tell me any reasonable thing. What he is doing now for people to help him fight is not close to what he should be doing to Sen. Akume and other leaders to keep the party together. Leadership demands humility. One does not treat someone who contributed significantly to one’s political elevation with disregard. Since that meeting, I have not had the opportunity to engage him again. The Nigerian Tribune quoted Oshiomhole as saying.
Leadership is not sustained by voices that say, “You are the Governor; you can do anything.” There is life after governorship. Political goodwill, relationships, and respect remain essential beyond any tenure.
True reconciliation cannot be built on silence or selective memory. Sustainable peace within a political party requires fairness, inclusion, and mutual respect among stakeholders. It requires acknowledging grievances, not dismissing them.
Unity cannot be achieved by asking one side to simply “move on.” It must be negotiated. It must involve structural adjustments, balanced appointments, and genuine recognition of party loyalists who labored to build the APC before electoral victory was achieved.
Benue APC stands at a crossroads. Continued division weakens the party’s electoral strength and governance capacity. Forced peace without equity will only deepen fractures beneath the surface.
If unity must return, it should be built on justice, dialogue, and compromise, not convenience. The responsibility now rests on party leaders at both the state and national levels to intervene wisely and ensure that inclusion, not exclusion, defines the future of the APC in Benue State.
If Gov Hyacinth Alia is given the soul of APC in Benue, none of the current leaders will be given a ticket in 2027. He fought with all of them. You don’t do that, Alia joined this party only in 2022 for governorship. If stakeholders are pushed aside, one faction alone cannot deliver victory for the APC. A united structure, not a divided house, wins elections.