After fighting off stiff opposition on his way to becoming Governor of Benue, including being suspended by a Catholic Bishop in the state, Hyacinth Alia, a reverend father, faces more battles as he aims to reposition the North Central state, writes JOHN CHARLES.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
A few weeks ago, precisely June 4, Benue All Progressives Congress stakeholders, under the leadership of the factional Austin Agada-led State Working Committee, organised a prayer session for President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
The prayer session was to commemorate the first anniversary of the appointment of the leader of the APC in the state and North Central Zone, Akume, as the SGF.
No fewer than eight Bishops were invited to anchor the prayer session. Out of the eight prayer points raised, the one for the state governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, evoked the feelings and pains of the party stakeholders.
The vice chairman of the APC Benue South Senatorial District, Bishop Pinot Ogbaji, raised the last prayer points, with sadness in his heart. He explained why the prayer point was vital and the need for God to touch the heart of Alia to retrace his steps.
Ogbaji lamented that the party’s stakeholders sacrificed their resources for Alia’s campaign in the build-up to the election, only for those mocking the party then to be reaping from where they did not sow after the governor was elected.
Indeed, in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, the APC, which was in the opposition in the state, had a Herculean task in choosing its candidate. Among the aspirants were old-breed politicians, such as former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Senator Barnabas Gemade, an ex-commissioner in the state, Prof Terhemba Shij; former minister, Sam Ode and others.
Of all the aspirants, only Alia did not have the political experience and resources to prosecute the indirect mode of primaries adopted by the party in the state.
But the leader of the party, Senator Akume and other party stakeholders saw the quality and popularity of Alia, who had become a household name due to his ‘healing power’ and opted for direct primaries to pick the party candidate.
There was opposition to the emergence of the Catholic priest, even from his church, as he was suspended by the Catholic Bishop of Gboko Diocese, Most Rev William Avenya. The then-ruling PDP in the state and the party’s governorship candidate, Titus Uba, were also bent on ensuring the disqualification of the cleric-turned-politician in court.
They, however, failed.
Also, Gemade and Prof Shija, who lost at the primaries, resisted all entreaties and challenged the process in court, even up to the Supreme Court, but they also lost.
Incidentally, some say Gemade has become one of the ‘godfathers’ of the governor.
Gemade, who is among the G18 that founded the PDP, became the political powerbroker of Benue State in 1998, contributing to the emergence of Akume as the governor of the state in 1999.
Unfortunately, their relationship did not last, as it was gathered that Akume as governor contributed to the removal of Gemade as the PDP national chairman.
Gemade was replaced by Audu Ogbe, also from Benue State and of the Idoma ethnic group. Since then, it has been a cat-and-mouse relationship between both political bigwigs.
WhyAlia U-Turn?
The reason behind Alia’s decision to jettison the party top guns in a bid to build a new party executive remains unknown but Ogbaji traced the shaky relationship between the governor and the party stakeholders to barely five days after the inauguration of Alia as governor.
“During the inauguration of the state Assembly, the governor had preference for a candidate for the position of Speaker but could not confer with the leadership of the party. Rather, he allowed the party to painstakingly sit, zone the position and anoint a candidate that was not his choice. The result was an embarrassing situation where stalwarts of the party were enmeshed in a shameful altercation in the chamber of the state House of Assembly,” Ogbaji said.
Since then, it has been one crisis or the other until Alia inaugurated a factional party executive in the state, led by Benjamin Omakolo, with a new office opened for the executive close to the seat of government at Kashim Ibrahim Way in Makurdi.
The governor then permanently sealed the party secretariat of the Austin Agada-led State Working Committee, located on the J.S. Tarka Way, also in Makurdi.
Also, the Executive Order recently signed by the governor was perceived to be against the opposition, especially, the factional group of the APC.
Just a few weeks ago, the SGF’ was to be honoured at a thanksgiving service at NKST Church in Daudu-Mbawa in the Guma Local Government Area, but the LGA caretaker chairman, Simon Unongo, ordered the organisers to put off the event, citing insecurity for his decision. The event, however, took place with only the supporters of Akume in attendance.
Shedding more light on the frosty relationship between the governor and party stakeholders, the state Publicity Secretary of the Agada-led exco, Daniel Ihomun, said there is no relief in sight as the situation is getting worse by the day.
Ihomun said, “The governor started to divide the party the moment he set up his faction (which he described as a non-governmental organisation). He didn’t carry the party along so also did he not align with the party any longer.
“Even after the Tiv Traditional Area Council, led by Tor Tiv, Prof James Ayatse, intervened a few days after, he went to Vandeikya through his Chief of Staff, Paul Biam, and declared that PDP members treated them (the government) better than APC.
“He also declared that only those who supported the factional group led by Omakolo would be patronised.”
On the governor pitching his tent with Gemade and others who did not labour for his election, Ihomun admitted that some elements within the party, for personal vendetta, were bent on destroying the party in the state.
The party publicity secretary said, “There are elements in the state that want the party to fail. They are the ones trying to destabilise the party and the reason for this is that some of them are not happy because they didn’t get the party ticket. So, to them, if the party is grounded, so is it.
“It’s purely personal vendetta, their motive is that the party should fall or the governor fails. You will recall that Gemade, went to court to challenge the mode of primaries the party in the state adopted (direct primaries). He also challenged the party primaries, which produced Alia and even insisted that the party would not have a candidate for the election, but today Gemade is Alia’s godfather.
“Of course, the party is not concerned with whom the governor chooses to be his godfather, but what we want is for him to fulfill all the campaign promises to Benue people.”
Recently, at a reception in honour of 13 board members appointed by President Bola Tinubu, Gemade, in his speech, took a swipe at those he perceived as frustrating the second term bid of the serving governor of the state.
Referring to Akume, Gemade said, “Nobody whatsoever is going to stop Governor Alia from his eight years of governorship. There are people in this state who tried to stop people from being governors but there are also other people who tried to stop governors from having a second term and there are people here who made sure that governors had a second term.
“So, those who try to make sure the governor doesn’t have a second term must know that we are always here to make sure governors have a second term and this particular governor deserves a second term more than anyone before him. And that is what is going to happen.”
The Publicity Secretary of the Omakolo factional executive of the party in the state, loyal to the governor, Terseer Agber, said the executive had come to stay, having toured all the local government areas in the state and the party members endorsing the faction.
Speaking on party stakeholders abandoned by the governor, he said the governor invited the stakeholders to state functions, claiming it was the latter who “never responded.”
Agber said, “There is nothing to reconcile. There is a new party executive in the state, led by Benjamin Omakolo and the new executive had gone round the local government areas and was accepted.
“In all the events the governor is present, he always acknowledges the party stakeholders, including the SGF. For all the activities of the governor, invitation letters were extended to the stakeholders. Find out why they have not been attending state functions and party meetings.”
Contrary to the impression that the executive order signed by the governor was to stifle the opposition in the state, particularly the Agada-led faction, Agber said the executive order was to curtail the activities of criminals who were on rampage in the state.
A section of the order banned political gatherings and ceremonies beyond 10pm across the state.
A political analyst in the state, Tony Ada, who traced the political history of the state to 1999, submitted that the former governor of the state and now SGF, Akume, has not been lucky enough to install a loyal person as governor of the state.
According to him, all the three people who rode on his crest to mount the most exalted seat had all abandoned him on securing the seat.
“Check the record, from Gabriel Suswam, who succeeded him, what happened to their relationship? Then, Samuel Ortom cried foul that he had been given a red card and even the incumbent governor did not wait for a month before exhibiting his real colour. Something must be wrong somewhere and none of them want to tell the people the reason for abandoning their godfather after actualising their dreams through his help,” he said.