Seeks Tinubu’s intervention
All Progressives Congress (APC), North-Central Forum, has expressed concern over the alleged move by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, to work with the immediate past Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, to unseat his successor, Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia.
The forum, chaired by Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, said it was worrisome that the SGF was hobnobbing with a leader of the opposition in Benue State in the person of Ortom.
Zazzaga, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election, urged President Bola Tinubu to keep a close tab on the SGF, whose alleged plot against Alia could destabilise the APC in the North-Central geopolitical zone.
The forum noted that the alliance between the duo, showcased at the thanksgiving programme organised in honour of Akume, at Konshisha Local Area of Benue State during the weekend, left no doubt about the depth of the conspiracy to unseat Alia at the 2027 poll.
Reiterating its loss of confidence in the SGF’s capacity to lead the APC in the zone, the forum noted that the alliance with Ortom showed that he did not have the interest of the APC at heart and was only concerned about loyalty to his person, and “control of the resources” of Benue State.
“If Senator Akume truly cares for Benue and North-Central, he would not enter an alliance with Ortom, whose past actions had shown little regard for the dignity and welfare of the people.”
“We are worried that the SGF, who should be the leader of the APC in the North-Central, will forge an alliance with disreputable opposition forces against an APC administration that is working hard to tackle the challenges in Benue State.
“The agenda of the alliance between Senator Akume and Chief Ortom is not about development; it is about Akume’s desire to control the government and resources of Benue State. The North Central APC Forum condemns this gang-up in its entirety.”
The forum expressed shock that Akume could form an alliance with Ortom, who, during his time as governor, boasted he had retired the SGF from politics.
Noting that Ortom’s eight years as governor set Benue State back in terms of human and infrastructural development, the APC forum wondered why the SGF, as a leader of the ruling party, should join forces with the PDP leader to destabilise an APC government.
Ortom, who left the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party during his tenure as governor, was among the dignitaries at a thanksgiving event held at Konshisha over the weekend to honour the SGF. The event was also organised to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of Akume’s major loyalists, Dr Matthias Byuan. (Guardian)
