Vice President Kashim Shettima has made a passionate appeal for political reconciliation in Benue State, urging the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, and Governor Hyacinth Alia to end their current rift.
The Vice President made the call on Tuesday during the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) Strategic Summit held at the State House Conference Hall in Abuja. Addressing the ongoing tensions within the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Shettima emphasized that the development of the state must take precedence over political differences.
“I want to use this forum to make a special appeal to His Excellency Senator George Akume and His Excellency Governor Hyacinth Alia to mend fences and work effectively,” Shettima pleaded.
Extolling the virtues and experience of the SGF, Shettima described Akume as one of the longest-serving and most accomplished public servants in Nigeria’s history.
““You won’t find a better stage than this,” he said. “I plead with Senator Akume and Governor Alia: close the gap and work together. Apart from Dr Ganduje, Akume is the longest-serving public servant in this dispensation—director of protocol, permanent secretary, two-term governor, 16-year senator, minister, and now SGF. You’ve seen it all; reach out to your younger brother. Benue needs peace and progress.”
The Vice President stressed that the unity of the party and the progress of the nation should be the ultimate goal. Invoking the words of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., he warned of the consequences of continued infighting.
“What binds us together supersedes whatever divides us. Nigeria is greater than all of us. As Martin Luther King rightly said, we either learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. And we are not a nation of fools,” he stated.
The appeal comes amid a publicized friction between the supporters of the Governor and the SGF, which has threatened the political stability of the North-Central state. Shettima’s intervention signals the Presidency’s desire for a united front as the administration moves toward the 2027 electoral cycle.
