Elders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) drawn from the 23 local government areas of Benue rose from the party’s stakeholders meeting and endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for second term as President of Nigeria.
They also condemned the plot in some quarters in the state to remove Senator George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF.
The party’s elders who were led by the Second Republic Senator, Senator Jacob Tilley Gyado, vowed to give President Tinubu massive votes to win again in 2027 the way the party did in 2023 to reciprocate his support for the people of the state as evidenced in the appointment of eminent sons into his administration.
While condemning the grand plot in some quarters to pull the rug off the feet of Senator Akume, the elders acknowledged the immense contributions of the former Benue governor to the political development of not only the state, but the entire North Central and the country as a whole saying any attempt to truncate his tenure would be resisted.
“Akume is a round peg in a round hole. We want the whole world to know that Senator George Akume remains our leader, he is the leader of Benue politics and indeed North Central in general and this gathering through Akume to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has endorsed the presidency of President Tinubu come 2027.
“We assure President Tinubu through Akume that Benue will repeat what they did by voting massively for the APC in 2027 by giving him 100 over 100.
“We condemn in strong terms any call by anybody in Benue State, in North Central and Nigeria as a whole for the removal of SGF Senator George Akume and we affirm Akume’s leadership in the state.
“When President Tinubu won elections, he zoned the position of SGF to North Central and that position was occupied by no other person than Senator George Akume because of his experience, maturity and understanding of politics.
“His Excellency Akume will deliver Benue State and North Central to the APC in future elections”.
The elders who condemned the fractionalization of the APC in the state restated their support to the leadership of Comrade Austin Agada and not to the caretaker committee as well as Senator Akume.
They regretted that after they worked very hard to put the party in a place that saw the party produce the governor of this state, two senators, 10 out of 11 House of Representatives, 21 out of 22 members of the House of Assembly and in the recent elections APC swept all the positions, some elements conspired to put clogs in the wheels of progress of the party.
