The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum, has asked President Bola Tinubu to ‘watch’ Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, for allegedly working with opposition politicians to destabilize the APC in the North-Central zone.
The North-Central APC Forum made the call in a statement released by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, on Monday.
The call followed indications of a fresh alliance between Akume and immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, against the sitting Governor, Reverend Hyacinth Alia.
Akume has been engaged in a face-off with Alia over the control of the party in Benue, while Ortom’s administration is being proved by Alia’s government.
However, there are indications that the two former Benue governors have formed an alliance against Alia.
Ortom, who left the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during his tenure as governor, was among the dignitaries at a thanksgiving event held at Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State over the weekend to honour the SGF.
The event was also organised to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of Akume’s major loyalists, Dr. Matthias Byuan, an Executive Director at the Federal Housing Authority, FHA.
Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Tersoo Kula, had in a statement, criticised Ortom’s presence at the event, accusing him of poor leadership during his tenure as governor from 2015 to 2023.
On his part, Ortom, through his spokesman, Terver Akase, accused
the Alia administration of receiving higher federal allocations without matching the expectations of citizens in addressing security and developmental challenges.
Reacting to the development, the North-Central APC Forum said it was concerned that the SGF is hobnobbing with a leader of the opposition in Benue State in the person of former governor Ortom.
In the statement signed by Zazzaga, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election, the North-Central APC Forum said it was alarming that the SGF has entered an alliance with opposition leaders to fight the APC government in Benue.
