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The Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the Strategic Alliance for Tinubu/Shettima Re-election 2027, led by the Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF), alleging that the group was designed to undermine Governor Hyacinth Alia’s re-election bid.
The party also accused some of its members, including senior federal government officials, of associating with opposition politicians under the guise of mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
The Director General of the Tinubu/Alia 2027 Campaign Council in Benue State, Hon. Richard Asema, stated this on Friday during a press briefing at the campaign secretariat in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
Asema said the party in Benue state is concerned about the unveiling of Strategic Alliance by senior members of APC in the state with opposition political parties and candidates standing election against their party’s candidate in the 2027 governorship poll.
He said “The Benue State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) views with serious concern the purported formation of the “Strategic Alliance For Tinubu/Shettima Re-election 2027 “ by some political individuals and groups and the subsequent announcement of a Campaign Council for the re-election of our dear President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The Party observes that this ‘Strategic Alliance” is populated by some members of the APC, some of whom are holding senior positions in the Federal Government of Nigeria, including Senator George Akume, Secretary to Government of the Federation(SGF) and Prof Joseph Utsev, Hon. Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation.”
He said the party was concerned that the membership of the alliance included governorship candidates of opposition parties, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, as well as officials of other minority parties.
Asema said “The APC in Benue state under the leadership of Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia and the Chairmanship of Hon Benjamin Omale, wishes to strongly reject this purported Strategic Alliance and its Campaign Council.
“This Council, to say the least, is contemptuous and injurious to the fortunes of APC and its electioneering machinery in the state as being coordinated by Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia.”
According to him, intelligence available to the party suggested that the alliance had a hidden agenda to sabotage Alia’s 2027 governorship re-election while presenting itself as a platform for Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
Asema recalled that the state APC had constituted a campaign council comprising more than 900 party leaders and members, which was inaugurated on November 5, 2026 and expressed concern that some APC members appointed into the council subsequently announced their unwillingness to participate in its activities before unveiling the strategic alliance.
The campaign council maintained that the APC remained firmly established in Benue, citing its electoral victories in 2023, including the governorship seat, two senatorial seats, 10 of the 11 House of Representatives seats and 27 of the 32 State Assembly seats.
Asema also attributed the party’s confidence ahead of 2027 to what he described as Alia’s achievements in infrastructure, industrial development, education, employment of 9,700 teachers and payment of salaries and pensions.
He insisted that the APC did not require an alliance with opposition parties to win the forthcoming elections and urged members involved in the arrangement to withdraw and return to the mainstream leadership of the party under Alia.
The campaign council reaffirmed its support for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia, expressing confidence in their victory in the 2027 general elections.
