By Iduh Onah
THE STRUGGLE for political supremacy between Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has become far more than a disagreement between two prominent members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Rather, it has evolved into another of Nigeria’s compelling case studies of the perennial contest between political godfatherism and executive independence.
It is certainly a battle whose outcome may ultimately determine not only the future of the APC in Benue State but also the state’s political direction ahead of the 2027 general elections.
What makes the Benue contest particularly captivating is that both protagonists are products of the same political family. Akume is widely acknowledged as the architect of the APC’s rise in Benue. Over nearly three decades, he has built an extensive political network, serving successively as governor, senator, minister and now SGF. His influence has long extended beyond elective office into the internal machinery of party organisation and political mobilisation.
Beyond Benue, the contest speaks to a broader national phenomenon. Across Nigeria, newly elected governors frequently confront the expectations of influential political sponsors who believe electoral support should translate into enduring political influence. Conversely, governors often seek to consolidate independent authority once in office, creating inevitable tensions between electoral legitimacy and established party structures. Like other power struggles before it, the Akume-Alia rivalry has become one of the clearest illustrations of this recurring pattern in contemporary Nigerian politics.
Governor Alia arrived on the political scene from an entirely different trajectory. A Catholic priest, renowned for his spiritual prowess, before venturing into politics; and as a result, he captured the imagination of Benue voters in 2023.
What more, he was packaged as an outsider committed to restoring governance, improving service delivery and breaking from the entrenched political traditions many citizens blamed for years of Benue’s underdevelopment and insecurity.
Ironically, his emergence as the APC governorship candidate was itself facilitated by the political structure Akume had painstakingly built, with widespread reports crediting the SGF’s influence in navigating both the party primaries and the legal challenges that followed. However, like many alliances forged for electoral victory, the relationship proved short-lived.
Barely had the new administration settled into office when disagreements surfaced over appointments, consultations and the distribution of political influence. What initially appeared to be routine differences between party leaders progressively graduated into an open contest over authority. While Akume’s supporters argued that longstanding stakeholders who had invested years in building the APC deserved consultation and inclusion in governance, Alia’s camp insisted that an elected governor derives constitutional authority directly from the electorate and therefore cannot surrender executive discretion to unelected political interests.
As the dispute deepened, it became increasingly evident that appointments were merely symptoms of a much larger struggle, with the real battlefield being the control of the state APC’s organisational structure.
As it is well-known in Nigerian politics, control of party executives, delegates, local government structures and nomination processes often determines electoral outcomes long before votes are cast. Whoever controls the party machinery effectively controls access to future candidacies, campaign mobilisation and political patronage. Political analysts therefore view the Akume-Alia rivalry as both a disagreement over governance as it is an early projection for the 2027 electoral cycle.
The competing narratives surrounding both men are equally compelling. To Akume’s supporters, the SGF remains the institutional pillar upon which the APC in Benue was constructed. They contend that political loyalty, consultation and respect for established leadership are indispensable for party cohesion and long-term stability. Some also argue that his national responsibilities leave little room for day-to-day interference in state governance, suggesting that media narratives have at times exaggerated the scale of the disagreement.
Governor Alia’s supporters see matters differently. They argue that democratic legitimacy resides with the electorate rather than party patrons. Having secured a direct mandate from Benue voters, they insist the governor possesses both the constitutional authority and political obligation to appoint his own team, define his administration’s priorities and free governance from the constraints of godfather politics. In their view, Alia is attempting to redraw the traditional balance of power between elected executives and influential party benefactors.
Predictably, the rivalry spilled beyond internal party meetings into the public arena. Senior APC officials aligned with both camps have exchanged conflicting positions over party leadership, endorsements and strategy. The resulting factionalism has complicated relations within the Benue APC, strained coordination between state and federal political actors and generated repeated calls for reconciliation from the national leadership.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima and other senior APC figures have publicly appealed for unity, while several reconciliation initiatives have sought to prevent the dispute from undermining the party before 2027.
Social media also further amplified the melee, with supporters of both leaders portraying the conflict through sharply contrasting lenses. For one side, Alia symbolises liberation from political godfatherism; for the other, Akume represents institutional continuity and party discipline. While online commentary offers a glimpse into public sentiment, it also illustrates how partisan narratives increasingly shape political perceptions in Nigeria’s digital age.
Beyond Benue, the contest speaks to a broader national phenomenon. Across Nigeria, newly elected governors frequently confront the expectations of influential political sponsors who believe electoral support should translate into enduring political influence. Conversely, governors often seek to consolidate independent authority once in office, creating inevitable tensions between electoral legitimacy and established party structures. Like other power struggles before it, the Akume-Alia rivalry has become one of the clearest illustrations of this recurring pattern in contemporary Nigerian politics.
Who is Likely to Prevail?
Judging from the present political undercurrents, it would be premature to predict a clear winner in the Akume–Alia contest.
Governor Alia undoubtedly enjoys the advantages of incumbency. As the sitting governor, he commands the machinery of state administration, possesses a direct electoral mandate and remains constitutionally positioned to seek a second term. In Nigerian politics, incumbency has often provided governors with considerable leverage in consolidating party structures, attracting political allies and shaping future electoral contests.
Akume, however, remains a formidable political strategist whose decades-old political network, national stature as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and enduring influence within the APC establishment cannot be discounted. His institutional experience and long-standing relationships within the party ensure that he will remain a major power broker in Benue politics irrespective of who occupies Government House.
All these variables notwithstanding, Nigerian political history offers no settled rule as to whether incumbency or political godfatherism ultimately prevails. The prolonged struggle between former Rivers State Governor, and current Minister of the Federal Capital Terriroty, Nyesom Wike, and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, demonstrated that while an incumbent governor enjoys constitutional authority and control of state institutions, an influential political benefactor with deep roots in the party and significant federal connections can continue to shape political outcomes long after leaving office.
Similarly, in Lagos State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has continued to maintain remarkable influence over the state’s political architecture almost two decades after leaving office as governor, illustrating how enduring political structures can sometimes outlast incumbency itself.
These contrasting examples suggest that the Benue contest cannot be viewed solely through the prism of incumbency. Much will depend on which factor proves more decisive over time – the governor’s ability to consolidate political loyalty through governance and electoral legitimacy, or Akume’s capacity to preserve his extensive party network and influence within both the state and the national APC.
The final outcome, therefore, is likely to be less about one man’s complete victory than about a gradual redefinition of power within Benue politics.
Should reconciliation efforts succeed, both leaders may ultimately emerge with complementary rather than competing roles – Alia as the party’s electoral face in Benue and Akume as its strategic elder statesman.
If, however, the rivalry persists, the balance of power will almost certainly be determined not by personality alone but by who secures lasting control of the APC’s organisational structure ahead of the 2027 elections. In Nigerian politics, as experience repeatedly shows, control of the party often proves as important as control of government itself.
