…Disowns Campaign Structure, Says SGF’s Loyalists Were Listed Without Authorization

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The lingering leadership crisis rocking the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) escalated on Tuesday as the faction loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, disowned the campaign council unveiled by Governor Hyacinth Alia ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

The development followed the publication of the names of Akume and several prominent members of his political camp in the campaign council reportedly constituted for the inauguration of Alia’s second-term campaign structure scheduled for Thursday, November 5.

The Akume-led group, however, rejected the arrangement, describing the published list as unauthorized and insisting that its members were not part of the purported campaign structure.

The latest disagreement underscores the deepening divisions within the Benue APC, which has been embroiled in a protracted leadership dispute since the emergence of Governor Alia’s administration in 2023.

Several party stakeholders who have accused the governor’s administration of sidelining established party leaders have maintained their distance from his political camp.

Some of the aggrieved stakeholders have aligned with the Nyesom Wike-led Rainbow Coalition and established a political mobilization platform known as the Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu 2027 to pursue their political interests ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The State Organising Secretary of the APC faction loyal to Governor Alia, Mr James Ornguga, had earlier published the campaign council, describing it as a joint structure for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and Governor Alia’s second-term bid.

The council is reportedly headed by the factional State Chairman of the party, Benjamin Omale.

But reacting to the publication, the Director-General of the Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu 2027, Chief Akange Audu, a prominent Akume loyalist, categorically dissociated the alliance from the campaign council.

Audu, in a statement, said the alliance had already unveiled its organisational and campaign structures for the 2027 general elections, comprising its Board of Patrons/Conveners, Advisory Council, Directorate and other members.

He insisted that the previously published structure remained the only authentic reference for the alliance’s leadership, membership and operational activities.

According to him, the publication jointly signed by Omale and Ornguga wrongly included the names of prominent members of the alliance, including its Conveners, Senator Jack Tilley-Gyado and Elder Simon Shango, as well as candidates for the National Assembly and Benue State House of Assembly.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu 2027 categorically dissociates itself from the said publication and disowns any claim or suggestion that the individuals mentioned therein are associated with, or constitute members of, the purported Alia campaign structure,” he said.

Audu described the inclusion of Akume’s name in the campaign council as particularly contentious, arguing that the SGF, whom he described as the founder and foremost political leader of the APC in Benue State, should not have been listed merely as a member.

He said the arrangement raised questions about the recognition of established party leadership and the political history of the APC in the state.

The alliance director-general further alleged that since the APC won the 2023 general elections, the party’s established leadership and structures had been sidelined by the Alia administration, a development he said had contributed to the persistent disagreements within the party.

Audu, however, maintained that the alliance remained committed to mobilising support for President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

He added that its political engagement would also extend to supporting APC candidates for the National Assembly and Benue State House of Assembly who emerge through the political leadership and direction recognised by Senator Akume.

The alliance consequently urged APC state, local government and ward executives, party stakeholders, members and the general public to disregard the campaign council publication.

While calling for unity and collective action among party members, Audu stressed that the Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu 2027 was an independent political mobilization platform whose identity, leadership and membership could not be appropriated or misrepresented through unauthorized publications.

The latest development has further brought the unresolved leadership disagreements within the Benue APC into focus, particularly as political alignments ahead of the 2027 general elections continue to take shape.