Benue APC Crisis: Protest Threat Raises Pressure On Tinubu As Alia-Akume Rivalry Deepens

By Reloaded News Political Desk

The political crisis within the All Progressives Congress in Benue State has taken a fresh turn, with a coalition of civil society organisations and minority opposition parties threatening a statewide protest and demanding intervention from President Bola Tinubu and the party’s national leadership.

The demand comes as another group in the state has rejected a proposed political arrangement known as the Rainbow Coalition, alleging that influential politicians are working to undermine Governor Hyacinth Alia ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

The latest developments have brought renewed attention to the prolonged disagreement between Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, whose competing political interests have divided the state chapter of the ruling party.

Can the party’s national leadership contain the dispute before it develops into a more serious confrontation over the control of its political structures.

Protest threat puts pressure on national leadership

At a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the coalition called on Tinubu and the APC national leadership to intervene in the dispute.

The group accused Akume and some party stakeholders of promoting parallel political structures that it claimed could weaken Alia’s administration and deepen divisions within the party.

It warned that the continued disagreement could affect political stability and governance in Benue, threatening to mobilise residents for a statewide protest if its concerns were not addressed.

The coalition also called for reconciliation between the governor and lawmakers allegedly aligned with Akume, arguing that the party’s internal differences should not be allowed to undermine cooperation among elected officials.

These accusations remain claims by the coalition. The individuals accused and the APC national leadership were not reported as having responded to the latest allegations in the statements available.

Rainbow Coalition becomes another point of confrontation

The proposed Rainbow Coalition has emerged as a new source of disagreement in the state’s already divided political environment.

The Austin Agada-led faction of the Benue APC recently disclosed the existence of the coalition and announced Chief Akaage Audu as its director-general.

The faction said the arrangement was committed to mobilising support for Tinubu and other candidates it intended to support ahead of the 2027 elections.

However, the Benue Alliance for Good Governance and Accountability has rejected the political arrangement, arguing that alliances formed by influential politicians should not determine who governs the state.

The group alleged that political negotiations involving figures outside Benue could be aimed at preventing Alia from securing a second term. It also raised concerns about reported discussions involving Akume, former governor Samuel Ortom and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The dispute raises an important question for the ruling party: can a coalition intended to support the president’s re-election operate without creating further conflict over the governor’s own political future and the party’s state-level candidates?

A reconciliation effort that has yet to settle the dispute

The Alia–Akume disagreement predates the latest controversy. Previous reconciliation efforts brought the rival camps together, but disputes over party structures, nominations and political influence have continued.

The stakes are significant because the disagreement involves more than personal relations between two prominent politicians. It concerns who exercises influence over the APC’s state organisation, how competing interests are accommodated and whether the party can maintain a coherent position as preparations for 2027 intensify.

The latest protest threat suggests that the dispute has now attracted pressure from groups outside the immediate rivalry between the two camps. Whether that pressure produces a formal intervention, further negotiations or an actual protest remains to be seen.

For Tinubu and the APC national leadership, the challenge is to establish a process that can address the grievances of both camps without allowing competing political arrangements to undermine the party’s recognised candidates.

The next developments will be more revealing than the accusations already exchanged.

Will the APC National Working Committee formally intervene? Will the parties involved in the Rainbow Coalition clarify which candidates they intend to support in Benue? And will the coalition threatening a statewide protest announce a date or take further action?

Answers to these questions will help establish whether the latest confrontation is leading towards a negotiated settlement or a deeper division within the ruling party.

For now, the protest remains a threat, the allegations against political stakeholders remain contested, and no new settlement has been established in the latest reports.

What is clear is that the Benue APC’s internal dispute remains unresolved, while the approach of the 2027 elections is increasing the political importance of every disagreement over leadership, alliances and candidate support.

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