By our correspondent
The Tinubu/Alia Campaign Council in Benue State has accused a group operating under Chief Akange Audu of plotting to destabilise the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the state under the guise of supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Sunday, by its Director of Communications, Sir Tersoo Kula, the council described the group as a coalition of politicians from different backgrounds allegedly united by grudges and working to cause electoral misfortune for the APC.
The council said the group was camouflaging as supporters of President Tinubu while allegedly working to undermine the administration of Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia.
It argued that President Bola Tinubu is not an independent candidate in 2027, but a candidate produced and sponsored by the APC, and warned that any attempt to weaken the APC in Benue would ultimately weaken the President.
The council said in every state, the APC remains the vehicle that will carry President Tinubu to victory, with Governor Alia as the driver of that vehicle in Benue as the governor elected on the party’s platform and leader of the party in the state.
It questioned how anyone could claim to want Tinubu to win Benue while allegedly attacking and distracting the governor, likening the situation to puncturing the tyres of a moving vehicle or plotting against its driver.
“In a democracy, the Party produces the candidate; the Party provides the structure; the Party provides the agents and defends the votes. To weaken APC is to weaken resident Bola Tinubu.
“You cannot claim you love the passenger while desperately trying to assassinate the driver of a moving vehicle,”.
The council said it was not against coalitions, noting that coalitions are normal in politics, but insisted that no genuine coalition for the APC in Benue can take place without the leader of the party in the state.
It questioned why Governor Alia was allegedly not consulted or invited to the table if the alliance was genuinely for Tinubu, stressed that the governor was appointed by the President and the APC national secretariat as the State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima elections.
The council further argued that President Tinubu needs majority votes and a strong APC controlling majority of states to govern effectively, and warned that a divided APC in Benue cannot deliver majority votes to the President.
Statement further accused the group of building a parallel structure that would create confusion with conflicting messages and give the opposition an opportunity to benefit from the crisis.
The council also accused some promoters of the group of collecting appointments from President Tinubu while allegedly using the privileges to build forces against the APC in the state, describing the conduct as morally wrong.
It warned that if the alleged alliance succeeded in demarketing Governor Alia and destabilising the APC, it would be difficult to secure votes for the President in the state.
“Anyone who wants Tinubu to win must equally work for APC to win and win clean in Benue,” statement explained.
