Three former appointees and allies of Benue State governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, have left this camp and joined the political fold of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, ahead of 2027 general elections.
Both Governor Alia and Akume are leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but due to their unending disagreements, there was a sharp division which paved way for the two camps belonging controlled by them.
Alia’s former appointees and close ally who reportedly switched their loyalty to Akume after the recently concluded APC primaries were former APC governorship candidate in 2019 and former member House of Representatives Makurdi/Guma federal constituency, Barr. Emmanuel Jime, immediate past commissioner for Youth, Creativity and Innovation, Tiza Isaac Imojime who had previously served as commissioner for Works, Housing and Urban Development.
The other is former Special Assistant to the governor on Youth and Media mobilisation, Joseph Terver Atu, who resigned recently.
To show solidarity, Akume had on Friday led a delegation to attend Jime’s birthday celebration in Abuja. Among those who also attended the birthday was 2027 PDP Benue state governorship candidate, Michael Aondoakaa (SAN).
Recall that, on May 3, 2026, Governor Alia and Akume had said they have reconciled following a peace and reconciliation meeting they held to settle disagreements within the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the party’s primary and 2027 general elections.
Political analysts opined that the aftermath of reconciliation did not yield much results as both camps are still scheming against each other.
Confirming the ongoing political realignment within the APC, the spokesperson of Akume’s APC camp, Dan-Morgan Ihomun, stated, “Yes they have returned and they are welcomed home. They have joined our leader, Senator George Akume. We are calling on others too to return so that all of us will mobilise for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.”
When contacted, the APC State Publicity Secretary, Benedict Yawe, said he would speak when he gets full facts, “I will speak when I have full facts” he said.
