The Benue State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned
the minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, telling him to concentrate on his ministerial responsibilities in Abuja rather than involve himself in the political affairs of Benue.

The statement issued by the APC State Publicity Secretary, Benedict Yawe, the party said that, “Benue is not Rivers State, and the political future of the state must be determined by its people”

APC said, “The party’s reaction follows comments by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the fictional national leader of PDP, Nyesom Wike, concerning reported monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts of N30 billion by Benue State, as well as a statement issued by the Benue PDP earlier today demanding answers from Governor Alia”

“If Wike has authoritative information about Benue’s FAAC receipts, he should present the relevant figures and context to promote informed public discussion” Yawe said.

The statement urged Wike to apply the same standards of accountability consistently, “including to the record of his political ally, Ortom. Political relationships should not shield any former or serving public official from legitimate scrutiny.”

APC challenged the Benue state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to address questions surrounding the financial record of the administration of former Governor Samuel Ortom before criticising Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia over the state’s revenue and expenditure.

“The PDP governed Benue State for more than two decades, including eight years under Ortom. However, its record during that period continues to attract questions about public finance, workers’ welfare, infrastructure and the management of government-owned assets”

The APC maintained that a party demanding accountability from the present administration must also be prepared to answer legitimate questions about its own tenure.

“Of particular concern is the reported N139.8 billion discrepancy identified by the Benue State Income and Expenditure Commission of Inquiry in financial records covering 2015 to 2023”

The APC called on the PDP to address the Commission’s findings and provide clear explanations regarding the issues raised.

The APC also challenged the PDP to explain the circumstances surrounding the reported disposal of government-owned assets and enterprises during the Ortom administration,
“ Benue people deserve to know what public assets were sold or disposed of, the proceeds realised and how the transactions served the public interest. These are legitimate questions about public resources that should be addressed transparently”

“Regarding the reported N30 billion in monthly FAAC receipts, the APC stresses the importance of accurate figures and proper context. Allocations to the state government must be distinguished from those to the 23 local government councils. Monthly receipts may fluctuate, while statutory deductions and existing financial obligations affect the funds available for expenditure” APC said.

The statement said, “The relevant figures must therefore be established before conclusions are drawn about the resources available to the Alia administration”

Parts of the statement read, “Since assuming office in May 2023, Governor Alia’s administration has pursued initiatives in education, workers’ welfare, infrastructure and agriculture. These include the recruitment of more than 9,700 primary school teachers, the provision of free basic education from Basic One to Basic Nine, the implementation of a N75,000 minimum wage and road construction projects across the state”

APC insisted that the Alia administration’s performance should be assessed objectively, taking into account verifiable results, its financial obligations and the challenges inherited from previous administrations.

“The government has also pursued efforts to revive moribund industries, strengthen agricultural development and improve security through logistical support for security agencies and other interventions”

“The APC maintains that the opposition party should apply the same standards of accountability to its own record in government. The PDP must explain its record, address questions surrounding the financial obligations inherited by the present administration and demonstrate that its criticism of Governor Alia is based on verifiable facts”

“The Benue APC reaffirms its commitment to transparency, responsible public finance and good governance. The party maintains that accountability must apply to every administration and that public resources must be managed in the best interests of the people.

It therefore challenges the PDP to address questions surrounding its years in power rather than focus exclusively on the present administration” APC said.

“Governor Alia, the party maintains, remains focused on governance, the delivery of public services and the fulfilment of his mandate to the people of Benue State. The APC calls on the PDP and other political actors to engage in constructive debate based on verifiable facts, consistent standards of accountability and the public interest” the statement said.

The convener of the G100 political pressure group, Salihu Lukman, has disclosed that the opposition parties working in alliance with the group will announce a single presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, possibly only days before the poll.

Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke on Channels Television’s programme, Hard Copy.

“I can tell you categorically, and my confidence about that comes from what I see in the leadership of the parties: they are committed and they are working, taking all the steps necessary.

“So it could be two months, some weeks to the election, or a few days to the election; they will come out and tell Nigerians this is the direction, and everybody will queue”, he said.

According to him, the effort has gone beyond the six parties currently involved. “They are also working to expand; they are reaching out to other parties,” he said.

The G100 was formed to push the opposition towards a united front after an all-opposition summit in Ibadan in April 2026 resolved to field a consensus candidate against the ruling APC.

Lukman said the parties and their candidates have since taken over the process from the group.

“When the parties owned the process we had started and took it beyond, took it out of our hands and began to engage each other based on the need to develop the kind of confidence they need to trust one another,” he said.

He identified the biggest obstacle as “the trust deficit among even the parties and the candidates.”

Former commissioners, political appointees and grassroots associates of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai have stated reasons why they parted ways with him.

The former allies, under Kaduna De-Initiative, said they supported El-Rufai because they believed in a political project, not because they surrendered their political identities, structures and followers to him.

They insisted that they were political partners, not political property, and therefore retained the right to determine their own political future.

The position was signed by former Deputy Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon. Mukthar Isa Hazo, and former Kaduna State SDP Chairman and four-time House of Assembly member for Ungwan Sanusi Constituency, Hon. Nasiru Abdullahi Maikano.

They said members of the group, including former commissioners Ja’afaru Sani, Dr. Shehu Usman Makarfi, Bashir Saidu and Senator Abdu Kwari, had made significant contributions to the political structures that supported El-Rufai, alongside numerous grassroots politicians across Kaduna State.

The group said it was therefore unfair to describe their departure as betrayal, stressing that political relationships were not permanent and that alliances could change when circumstances, interests and objectives changed.

“Are we not adults who can take our own political decisions?” the group quoted Bashir Saidu as asking, saying the same freedom that allowed them to support El-Rufai in the past should allow them to make different choices today.

It said the political relationship became increasingly strained after El-Rufai’s 2019 re-election, when, according to its account, former allies felt increasingly marginalised while members of the former governor’s family were perceived to be exercising growing influence in government affairs.

The group stressed that it did not question El-Rufai’s right to rely on family members or trusted associates, but said its concern was what it described as the consequent weakening of the wider political structure and the growing sense among former allies that their political relevance was diminishing.

It said the disagreement later became more pronounced after El-Rufai left office, particularly over the 2027 political realignment and the ADC governorship primary, where Ja’afaru Sani was regarded by their camp as a preferred successor.

According to the group, El-Rufai instead backed Isa Ashiru, his former political rival, who defeated Sani in the ADC direct primary with 86,113 votes to 29,580. Sani rejected the outcome and alleged irregularities in the process.

The former allies also alleged that the support for Ashiru was linked to an arrangement designed to retain El-Rufai’s influence over a possible ADC administration, including alleged plans to appoint two of his wives. They expressly acknowledged that the allegation had not been independently established by a court or formally documented in a public agreement.

The group said the development reinforced its belief that the political interests of former allies were no longer aligned with those of El-Rufai, adding that the central question was whether Kaduna’s political future should be shaped by the interests of the people who built political structures or by the interests of a few individuals.

It challenged El-Rufai’s supporters to examine not only why people left his political camp but also what happened to the relationships that made them leave. According to the group, repeated political departures deserved examination rather than automatic accusations of betrayal.

It argued that El-Rufai’s own political journey demonstrated that political alliances could change, saying he had worked with different political actors and formations and had subsequently found himself on opposite sides of political battles with some of them.

“If El-Rufai could make political choices based on his assessment of circumstances and interests, why should his former associates be denied that same right?” the group asked.

The former allies said their decision to move away from El-Rufai was not driven by hatred or political revenge, but by a desire to take responsibility for their political future and that of their supporters. They said Governor Uba Sani’s reconciliation initiative provided an opportunity to return to the APC and work for Kaduna’s future.

They maintained that they were not interested in a personal war with El-Rufai and acknowledged his right to make his own political choices, but insisted that the same principle applied to them.

“We are not making this argument out of bitterness,” the group said. “We have chosen reconciliation. We have chosen to return to the APC. We have chosen to move forward,” adding that their political destiny belonged to them and the people who had entrusted them with their confidence.