Taiwo Popoola
The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum, has asked President Bola Tinubu to ‘watch’ Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, for allegedly working with opposition politicians to destabilize the APC in the North-Central zone.
The North-Central APC Forum made the call in a statement released by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, on Monday.
The call followed indications of a fresh alliance between Akume and the immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, against the sitting Governor, Reverend Hyacinth Alia.
Akume has been engaged in a face-off with Alia over the control of the party in Benue, while Ortom’s administration is being proved by Alia’s government.
However, there are indications that the two former Benue governors have allied against Alia.
Ortom, who left the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during his tenure as governor, was among the dignitaries at a thanksgiving event held at Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State 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, an Executive Director at the Federal Housing Authority, FHA.
Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Tersoo Kula, had in a statement, criticised Ortom’s presence at the event, accusing him of poor leadership during his tenure as governor from 2015 to 2023.
On his part, Ortom, through his spokesman, Terver Akase, accused
the Alia administration received higher federal allocations without matching the expectations of citizens in addressing security and developmental challenges.
Reacting to the development, the North-Central APC Forum said it was concerned that the SGF is hobnobbing with a leader of the opposition in Benue State in the person of former governor Ortom.
In the statement signed by Zazzaga, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election, the North-Central APC Forum said it was alarming that the SGF has entered an alliance with opposition leaders to fight the APC government in Benue.
Urging Tinubu to watch the SGF, the Forum warned that the alliance between Akume and Ortom against Alia could destabilize the APC in the North-Central.
“The North-Central APC Forum has observed with alarm, the alliance and gang up between the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, and Chief Samuel Ortom, the immediate past governor, against Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State.
“Chief Ortom, a leader of the opposition in Benue, whose administration is still under probe by the Governor Alia-led APC government, has now joined forces with Senator Akume, the SGF, to fight the APC government in Benue State.
“This unholy alliance was showcased at the thanksgiving program organized in honour of the SGF, Senator Akume, at Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State during the weekend.
“Chief Ortom’s prominent role at the event should be a cause for concern for any APC stakeholder and the attacks he hurled at Governor Alia following the event leaves us without any doubt that the SGF, Senator Akume, has ganged up with him to fight the APC governor in Benue State.
“The North-Central APC Forum is asking President Bola Tinubu to watch the SGF, as his alliance with opposition leaders such as Chief Ortom can destabilize the APC in not only Benue but the entire North-Central,” the group said.
Continuing, the North-Central APC Forum declared that it has lost confidence in the SGF’s capacity to lead the APC in the zone.
The Forum, which had in the past accused the SGF of lopsided appointments in favour of his Tiv kinsmen, and urged him to carry the entire North-Central along, and stand as the leader of the zone, noted that the alliance with Ortom shows that he does not have the interest of the APC at heart and is only concerned about loyalty to his person, and control of the resources of Benue State.
“The North-Central APC Forum has lost confidence in Senator Akume, the SGF, as his unholy alliance with Chief Ortom shows that he does not care about the development of Benue State and the North-Central zone.
“If Senator Akume truly cares for Benue and the North-Central, he would not enter an alliance with Ortom, whose past actions have 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,” it added.
The APC Forum expressed shock that Akume could form an alliance with Ortom, who, during his time as governor, boasted that 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 destabilize an APC government.
Warning that Akume’s romance with Ortom was not in the interests of the APC, the Forum insisted that President Tinubu should call the SGF to order immediately.
“We urge President Tinubu and the national leadership of the APC to take immediate action concerning the alliance between Senator Akume and Chief Ortom against the APC government in Benue State, led by Governor Hyacinth Alia.
“There is a need for immediate action because we have not forgotten that only recently, in October 2024, Chief Ortom vowed that PDP would reclaim power in Benue in 2027.
“The North-Central APC Forum restates the warning that the APC cannot afford to lose Benue State in 2027.
