Benue Governor Vows to Deliver 620,000 Votes to Tinubu

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Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, on Monday pledged to deliver at least 620,000 votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election, double the 310,468 votes the President garnered in the state during the 2023 presidential election.

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Alia made the declaration while addressing journalists after meeting Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, alongside former Governor Gabriel Suswam.

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He said Suswam’s alignment with the APC was among the political developments strengthening the ruling party’s prospects in the state.

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“I am very confident that as I won the election, even the first time, we are going to double the numbers for him.

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“APC will continue to remain just one hold, one threshold, and we are going to make it good for him and for the entire Benue State as well,” Alia told State House correspondents.

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In the February 2023 presidential election, Tinubu polled 310,468 votes against Peter Obi’s 308,372, winning by a margin of only 2,096 votes.

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The outcome upturned the dynamic of the state’s politics as Benue has been a PDP stronghold for years under former Governor Samuel Ortom, who openly voted for Peter Obi during the election.

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Alia said the visit to the Villa served multiple purposes, including updating the President on the security situation in the state, the status of internally displaced persons, the farming season now underway and the political atmosphere following the APC primaries.

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He explained, “Previously we’ve had lots of security hits. It has calmed down. The President needed to know the position of the IDPs now in the state.

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“It is the farming season for us. We are the food basket of the nation. If the IDPs are voluntarily going home do we still have some anxieties out there?

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“I say yes. And so the President needed to know how we are tackling that.”

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Alia said he also briefed the President on Suswam’s formal alignment with the APC, describing the former governor’s stature as requiring a direct interface with the President.

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“I am here with the former Governor of the state, Senator Gabriel Suswam, who also joined ranks with the APC. Someone in the big three of his stature requires that he interfaces with Mr President directly as well,” Alia said.

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The governor acknowledged internal tensions within the APC in Benue following the primaries but expressed confidence that the situation would settle.

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According to him, “I know there are some agitations from the very APC faithful after the primaries, but I believe it is going to calm down.

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“Mr President is a democrat who understands this. He is a grassroots person.”

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Alia also noted that Tinubu had visited Benue barely a week earlier for the state’s 50th anniversary celebrations, during which a fruit concentrate factory was commissioned by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who represented the President at the ceremony.

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He said a beer factory and a fruit juice factory among the commissioned projects were still awaiting commissioning.

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The First Lady had also commissioned 10 urban renewal road projects during the period, he added.

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The governor explained, “We came to thank him for showing up at Benue at 50, and then also to have him updated on the situation report of the entire state.”

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