THE BENUE APC PRIMARIES: BETWEEN PATIENCE, POWER AND POLITICAL BETRAYAL

By Simon Shango, MFR

The controversy surrounding the recently conducted House of Representatives primaries of the All Progressives Congress in Benue State has sparked intense debate across the political landscape. From the emotional reactions of loyal party faithful to the triumphant celebrations of those who currently control the structures of government, one thing is clear: the APC in Benue State stands at a dangerous crossroads.

Two separate articles by Comr. Benjamin Koko and Seniorman Jayms attempted to interpret the unfolding events from different perspectives. While one celebrated what he described as “political wisdom” in the emergence of Chief Mrs. Regina Akume, the other lamented what appeared to be the abandonment of Senator George Akume loyalists during the primaries. Both writers raised important questions, but neither fully addressed the deeper realities behind the crisis now consuming the APC in Benue State.

In an earlier article titled “George Akume, Loyalty, and the Benue APC Question,” I drew attention to the uncommon political qualities that have sustained Senator George Akume’s relevance over the decades. In a political environment often defined by impatience, bitterness, vengeance, and reckless ambition, Akume distinguished himself through patience, loyalty, strategic calmness, and an enduring commitment to collective political survival.

I argued then that Akume represents a rare breed of Nigerian politician — one who understands that power is not sustained through noise, intimidation, or impulsive reactions, but through long-term relationship building, political tolerance, and institutional loyalty. From his days as Governor of Benue State in 1999, through his years in the Senate, his service as Minister, and now as Secretary to the Government of the Federation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Akume has consistently demonstrated the ability to absorb provocation without descending into destructive political warfare.

One of Akume’s greatest strengths has always been patience. He does not panic under pressure, nor does he rush to destroy political structures because disagreements arise. Even when betrayed, insulted, or undermined, he has often preferred reconciliation over escalation. Unfortunately, what many interpret as maturity and statesmanship is now being mistaken for weakness.

For some time now, Senator Akume’s silence, restraint, and cautious approach have been deliberately misrepresented as helplessness. That interpretation is not only unfair; it is politically shallow. Akume remains one of the most experienced politicians to emerge from Benue State in the last three decades. His survival across multiple political dispensations is rooted in discipline, patience, negotiation, and his willingness to place party stability above personal ego.

As I argued previously, Akume’s careful handling of tensions within the Benue APC was shaped by two overriding considerations. First, he did not want to destroy the same APC structure he painstakingly helped to build in Benue State. Second, he remained conscious of his responsibilities as a senior official in the administration of President Tinubu, whose repeated calls for party unity and internal stability are well known.

What Akume underestimated, however, was that he was operating in a political environment where restraint would be interpreted as surrender, reconciliation viewed as vulnerability, and loyalty mistaken for irrelevance.

The recent primaries exposed that reality in its rawest form.

The President had reportedly advised that serving lawmakers and current office holders be largely accommodated through consensus arrangements in order to minimize internal crises. Across several states, party leaders embraced negotiations and consensus mechanisms to preserve unity. But in Benue State, Governor Hyacinth Alia chose a different path entirely. Rather than pursue accommodation and broad internal consultations, he moved aggressively to consolidate total control of the party structure through a highly disputed direct primary process.

What occurred in Benue can hardly be described as a transparent democratic exercise. In many constituencies, widespread complaints emerged that elections never truly held. Individuals allegedly sent by the APC National Working Committee to supervise the primaries were reportedly absent from polling locations and local government centers where voting was expected to take place. Instead, the exercise was allegedly conducted almost entirely by the disputed state executive committee headed by Benjamin Omale — a structure whose legitimacy remains challenged in court by the duly elected Comr. Austin Agada-led executive.

Even more disturbing were allegations that result sheets had already been completed before officials left Makurdi for the so-called primaries. Across several constituencies, aspirants and their supporters complained of the absence of proper accreditation, transparent voting, and credible collation processes. Winners simply emerged.

Under such circumstances, the claim that Governor Alia’s candidates defeated Senator Akume’s loyalists in free and fair contests becomes difficult to sustain under honest scrutiny.

Take the case of Vandefan Gemade in Konshisha. How does the son of a political figure like Barnabas Gemade — a man with enormous grassroots investments and longstanding influence in Konshisha — allegedly score zero votes in a primary election? A family that has built schools, churches, media infrastructure, and numerous developmental projects within the constituency suddenly becomes politically irrelevant overnight? Even the most politically indifferent observer understands that such figures defy democratic logic.

This is why many loyal party members feel deeply wounded — not merely because they lost elections, but because they believe there were no elections to lose in the first place.

The issue surrounding Chief Mrs. Regina Akume must also be properly understood. It is intellectually dishonest to suggest that her return ticket was merely a benevolent gift from Governor Alia. Regina Akume possesses her own political network within Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency and would have remained competitive under any reasonably transparent process. However, Governor Alia appears determined to project the narrative that he alone “returned Regina” while politically humiliating other Akume loyalists.

The intention behind such a narrative is obvious: to create suspicion between Senator Akume and his supporters, weaken trust within the Akume political family, and deepen divisions within the APC ahead of future political battles.

This is classic power politics — isolate the leader emotionally from his supporters while projecting yourself as the ultimate dispenser of political survival.

But beyond these calculations lies a more dangerous reality.

The APC in Benue State risks self-destruction if the current atmosphere of exclusion, intimidation, and winner-takes-all leadership continues unchecked. Political parties survive not merely through the power of incumbency, but through trust, inclusion, fairness, and internal justice. Once loyal party faithful begin to feel permanently excluded, resentment inevitably festers beneath the surface.

The tragedy is that many of those currently celebrating may not fully appreciate the long-term damage being inflicted on party cohesion. Humiliating loyal party members today may create deeper fractures tomorrow.

No political leader, no matter how powerful, can build a sustainable democratic structure entirely around fear, control, and personal dominance.

The APC in Benue State must urgently return to dialogue, reconciliation, and fairness. Internal democracy cannot be replaced with intimidation. Consensus cannot mean submission. Loyalty should never become a political liability.

People may wish to file petitions, challenge the process, or seek redress through party structures and the courts. But a troubling question now echoes across Benue State: where exactly will these people find justice? To whom will they turn when many already believe that the structures meant to guarantee fairness have themselves been compromised?

Governor Alia projects enormous political strength — a war chest few within the Benue APC can rival, the full weight of incumbency, and what many of his supporters portray as powerful backing from Abuja beyond challenge. In such an atmosphere, many party faithful feel intimidated even before attempting to seek redress.

This is why the anger across sections of the APC is not merely about electoral defeat; it is about the growing perception that the ordinary party member no longer has a trusted avenue for justice within the system. Once party faithful begin to believe that outcomes are predetermined, that complaints will never receive impartial hearing, and that power alone determines political survival, confidence in internal democracy inevitably collapses.

That is the real danger confronting the APC in Benue State today — not simply who won or lost a primary election, but the dangerous feeling among many loyal members that fairness, dissent, and legitimate political competition are gradually disappearing.

History has repeatedly shown that political parties are rarely destroyed first by opposition forces; they are destroyed internally when arrogance replaces consultation and when temporary power blinds leaders to long-term consequences.

As I stated in “George Akume, Loyalty, and the Benue APC Question,” Senator George Akume’s greatest political strength has never been noise; it has always been patience, endurance, and loyalty to structures larger than himself. But patience should never be mistaken for irrelevance. Equally, Governor Alia must understand that political victories secured through exclusion and excessive force often leave behind wounds that eventually consume the system itself.

At this critical moment, the APC in Benue State needs healing, honesty, and genuine reconciliation — not propaganda, triumphalism, and political mockery masquerading as victory.

Simon Shango, MFR