A deepening power struggle between Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, is threatening the political survival of nearly all federal lawmakers from the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The feud, rooted in a long-running rivalry for control of the All Progressives Congress structure in Benue, has split the party’s delegation in the National Assembly into warring factions, with lawmakers forced to choose between the governor and the SGF.
Benue currently has 14 federal lawmakers, comprising three senators and 11 House of Representatives members, elected in 2023 on the platforms of the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The APC controls 10 House seats and two Senate positions, while the PDP holds one Senate seat.
Sources familiar with the crisis told our correspondent that only one of the 11 APC members of the House of Representatives, Solomon Wombo, is aligned with Alia and therefore assured of the party’s ticket for 2027.
A source said, “Out of 11 Reps members from Benue State who are all in APC, only Solomon Wombo is with Alia, and only he has full assurance of the APC ticket.
“The remaining 10 members are with Akume, including the Deputy Spokesman of the House, Philip Agbese, who has since defected to the Labour Party. Out of the two APC senators, neither of them is with the governor. Even Senator Abba Moro, who is a PDP member, is with Akume.”
Agbese’s defection from the APC to the Labour Party on the floor of the House is widely seen as a direct consequence of Alia’s tightening grip on the party machinery, leaving Akume’s loyalists with diminishing room to manoeuvre within the ruling party.
The source disclosed that Vice President Kashim Shettima had recently met with the Benue National Assembly caucus, assuring members of return tickets and urging them to persuade Agbese to rejoin the APC, but expressed doubt over whether the governor would honour the arrangement.
He said, “Despite this assurance, there is a huge doubt whether Alia would allow this to happen. That’s why Agbese defected on the floor of the House two weeks ago.”
Efforts by House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to broker peace have also failed, with the governor repeatedly declining to attend reconciliation meetings convened on his behalf.
The source added, “Alia has refused to meet with the lawmakers. A series of meetings at the instance of Speaker Abbas, who was appointed to break the truce in Benue, were not successful.
“The Speaker would call for a meeting, but the governor will not turn up. Even the National Security Adviser, Mr Nuhu Ribadu, convened a series of meetings, but Alia refused to turn up; Akume and the lawmakers always turned up.”
The political future of Blessing Onuh, daughter of former Senate President David Mark, is also caught in the crossfire. Sources say Alia is working against her re-election bid from Otukpo, preferring the federal seat to go to Ohimini, and that Onuh, who is eyeing a principal legislative position in the North Central, may soon switch parties.
Akume, who governed Benue from 1999 to 2007 and later served as Minister of Special Duties before ascending to the SGF role, commands a political network built over decades that has shaped electoral outcomes across the state.
Alia, largely regarded as a political outsider before his emergence as governor in 2023, has since moved aggressively to take control of party structures, appointments and candidate selection, putting him on a collision course with Akume’s entrenched loyalists.
