2027 Elections: Benue APC Rejects Parallel Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Group, Gives Reason

• The Benue APC has rejected a 'Strategic Alliance for Tinubu/Shettima Re-election 2027', describing its formation as a matter of grave concern to the party
• The alliance's campaign council was found to include governorship candidates from rival parties, including the PDP and Labour Party
• APC's director general in Benue state warned that the group's real goal was to undermine Governor Hyacinth Alia's re-election bid in 2027

Makurdi, Benue state - The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue state has rejected a group calling itself the "Strategic Alliance for Tinubu/Shettima Re-election 2027," saying the formation threatens the party's internal unity and its prospects in the 2027 governorship election.

Richard Asema, director general of the Tinubu/Alia 2027 Campaign Council in Benue state, made the party's position known at a press briefing held at the campaign secretariat on Friday, November 13, 2026.

Asema said the party was troubled to discover that the alliance's campaign council includes serving officers of opposition parties, specifically governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party, alongside members of other minority parties.

Benue 2027: Senior FG Officials Named in the Alliance

The APC also raised concern over the involvement of some of its own senior members in the group. Among those named were Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Prof. Joseph Utsev, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation.

Asema said the party had reliable intelligence suggesting the alliance's actual purpose was to sabotage the re-election of Governor Rev. Fr. Dr Hyacinth Iormem Alia, while publicly claiming to be campaigning for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's second term.

He pointed out that many of the individuals now associated with the alliance had, in fact, been appointed as members of the APC's own campaign council, which was inaugurated on Thursday, November 5, at IBB Square in Makurdi, with over 900 party leaders on its membership list. Shortly after their appointments were announced, those same individuals declared they would not take part in the council's activities.

Benue APC Confident Ahead of 2027 Vote

Asema used the briefing to highlight the party's current dominance in Benue state, noting that the APC controls 27 of 32 state House of Assembly seats, 10 of 11 House of Representatives seats, 23 local government chairmen, and all 276 elected councillors across the state's council wards.

He also pointed to what he described as Governor Alia's strong performance in office, citing infrastructure delivery, job creation through medium and large-scale industries, the construction of classrooms, the employment of 9,700 teachers, and consistent payment of salaries and pension arrears.

"APC doesn't need any alliance to win the 2027 elections," Asema said, calling on members who had joined the group to leave it immediately and return to the mainstream party structure under Governor Alia's leadership.

The campaign council pledged its full support to both President Tinubu and Governor Alia ahead of the forthcoming elections.

Benue 2027: Residents Warned Against Anti-Alia Coalition

In a related development, a political commentary platform, The-Sam-Agwa-Observatory, has urged Benue state residents to be cautious about throwing their support behind a political coalition working to unseat Governor Alia ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

In a commentary published on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, the platform argued that the emerging alliance appeared to be held together by political grievances and the desire to reclaim lost influence, rather than any shared vision for the state's future.

Source: Legit.ng