The leadership crisis between Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, and his political godfather, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, escalated following the ward congress of the All Progressives Congress held across the state on Wednesday.
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The crisis, which began shortly after Alia’s inauguration in 2023, has split party members into two factions.
After the ward congress, the factionalised groups produced parallel ward executives.
The Austin Agada-led executive, loyal to Akume, claimed that the congress held on Wednesday was a reaffirmation of the existing ward executives.
However, loyalists of the governor told our correspondent that the congress, conducted through consensus across the state, produced new executives, arguing that the tenure of the previous executives had officially expired.
Speaking separately on Thursday, spokespersons for the two factions maintained that their actions were in line with directives from the party’s national secretariat.
Daniel Ihomun, the state Publicity Secretary of the Austin Agada-led faction loyal to the SGF, congratulated the ward executives, insisting that Wednesday’s congress affirmed the existing executives to continue for another four-year term.
“We heartily congratulate all ward executives who were affirmed by their respective congresses to continue in office for another tenure of four years.
“Your reaffirmation is a demonstration of the confidence reposed in you by party faithful. We urge you to justify this trust by remaining transparent, inclusive, dedicated and committed to strengthening the party at the grassroots.
“The mandate given to you is a call to service, not an avenue for personal interest,” he said.
While appreciating Akume for what he described as exemplary leadership and a fatherly role in holding the party together, Ihomun said the SGF’s guidance, experience and commitment continued to provide stability and direction for the party in the state.
“With the remarkable success recorded at the ward congresses, the Benue State APC is more united, focused and determined than ever to consolidate its strength and mobilise effectively towards delivering victory for Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027,” he added.
Countering the reaffirmation claim, the state Publicity Secretary of the party’s caretaker committee loyal to Alia, James Ornguga, said new executives were elected through consensus during Wednesday’s ward congress.
“What happened during our ward congresses yesterday was consensus; there were no guidelines for old executives to be returned. Their tenure has elapsed.
“In the case of ward executives, their tenure elapsed in July 2025; local government executives’ tenure elapsed in September 2025, while the state executives’ tenure ended on February 8 this year. So, the lifespan of the entire executives has officially ended,” he said.
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