The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, has called for unity within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State ahead of the party’s presidential primary scheduled for Saturday.
The appeal comes amid lingering tensions within the Benue APC following contentious governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives primaries that exposed deep divisions between camps loyal to Governor Hyacinth Alia and the SGF.
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In a statement issued on Friday by Yomi Odunuga, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the SGF, Mr Akume urged party members to place the collective interest of the APC above personal ambitions and embrace reconciliation after the primaries.
The SGF spoke shortly after arriving at the Makurdi Airport, where supporters and party loyalists gathered to receive him ahead of the presidential primary.
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“The presidential primaries are taking place tomorrow (Saturday). We’re here to mobilise support for our dear president. He’s doing very well,” Mr Akume said.
“I’ve told him repeatedly that he has no problem in Benue State. In this country, his performance, his commitment to patriotism, inclusive nature of government all speak in his favour.”
The SGF added that despite criticisms from some quarters, President Bola Tinubu continued to enjoy broad support across the country.
“In democracy, you must always have some opposing voices, but the truth is that his work is remarkable. His work has been approved by most Nigerians and we are very sure come tomorrow our people are going to vote massively for Mr President,” he said.
Mr Akume also expressed concern over reports of diversion of electoral materials during the APC primaries conducted earlier this week in Benue.
“I was not here during the last election. I received so many reports about diversion of materials among other things, but I wasn’t here so I don’t want to comment so much about that,” he said.
He warned that such actions could undermine confidence in the party’s internal democratic process and called for accountability.
“What I want to say is this, I want the APC to be a united family. This was how we intended it to be. Those of us who were the founding fathers of the party, we don’t want factions in our party,” he added.
“We’re very sure that come 2027, Mr President will get back to the Villa.”
The APC in Benue State has faced months of internal crisis arising from the struggle for control of the party structure between Governor Alia and Mr Akume, a former governor of the state and one of the party’s key power brokers.
The dispute led to parallel congresses earlier in the year, with rival factions producing separate executives and issuing conflicting directives.
The crisis also triggered intervention from the national leadership of the APC and the presidency.
On 30 April, Mr Akume convened a high-level reconciliation meeting in Makurdi after concerns reportedly reached President Tinubu over the growing divisions within the party.
At the meeting, the SGF said the president wanted all elected officials under the APC platform to return automatically, including members of the National and State Assemblies.
But Governor Alia publicly disagreed, insisting that neither the president nor the APC national leadership approved automatic tickets for any aspirant.
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Subsequent primary elections in the state reflected the deepening rivalry.
Last weekend, six serving House of Representatives members believed to be loyal to the SGF lost their re-election bids to candidates considered close to Governor Alia.
Similarly, during the senatorial primaries, two serving senators regarded as allies of the SGF, Emmanuel Udende and Titus Zam, lost their tickets to former governor Gabriel Suswam and Aber Terseer, husband of the Benue State Secretary to the Government, Deborah Aber.
Governor Alia also secured the APC governorship ticket on Thursday after polling 367,786 votes to defeat former SGF Terwase Orbunde and Jeffrey Kuraun.
Political observers say the outcomes of the various primaries have significantly reshaped the balance of power within the Benue APC ahead of the 2027 elections, despite ongoing reconciliation efforts within the party.
