The Benue Patriotic Front (BPF) has described as illogical and unreasonable allegations by the Benue Progressives Forum for Good Governance that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume has the ambition to run for the presidency come 2027.
BPF made the statement in reaction to allegations by Benue Progressives Forum for Good Governance, which said Senator Akume was nursing a presidential ambition for 2027, adding that the reception recently held in his honour was a platform for the ambition.
The BPF further described the statement by the group as that of politicians pained by the successes recorded by Senator Akume, who has been rewarded with the office of the SGF for his consistency.
In a statement signed by Tarnongu Aku,
Secretary, Benue Patriotic Front and made available to Daily Independent in Makurdi on Sunday, BPF insisted that the alleged presidential ambition was non-existent.
He availed that should President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decide to run for the presidency come 2027, the SGF and indeed the Benue people would back him up and give him the necessary support, even as he advised Nigerians to disregard “this evil position” by the group.
According to Aku, “Saying that the SGF is nursing a presidential ambition in 2027 is a desperate absurdity. It is not even worth a reply, but we wish to state for the unsuspecting members of the public who may fall prey of the modified antics of sectional and religious politicians in Benue State that His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not only deliver excellently on his campaign promises to Nigerians but will always take the lead in Benue and other North central states should he answer the call by Nigerians to continue his good works beyond 2027!
“Nigerians are urged to disregard this evil position by the said Benue Progressives Forum for Good Governance as a diversionary tactics to save their sponsors from the shame of defeat in the last elections.
“These are antics of old political hawks who after several decades in politics have found nothing worth standing for. They seek to perch from the top of every mountain of glory without first learning the path of achieving glorious feats. Such people must be disregarded in our genuine quest for a greater nation.
“We like to reiterate the fact that Senator Akume has offered the platform for the greater number of people to realize their dreams in Benue State. It is not by accident that several years after leaving government house, Makurdi, all the succeeding governors in the state are produced on his platform.
“This is a kind of grace that envy, malice, and desperation can not achieve. Those who seek quality and result-oriented leaders in Benue state need not search the pages of newspapers, there are records and antecedents which no amount of blackmail can erase. Akume’s political sagacity remain solid in the sand of time.”
Furthermore, BPF which observed that the popularity of the SGF has continued to soar also called on the Executive Secretary (ES), Shippers’ Council, Rt Hon Emmanuel Jime to distance himself from the comments of the group by denying the allegations, which pertain to him, adding that his continuously silence smacks of a conspiracy.
Aku pointed out that, “It is a known fact that Akume’s house remains a typical Nigerian setting where people from all sentiments in the country come to live their dreams. We urge others to instead of promoting cheap narratives against him (Akume) to rather learn to borrow a leaf from his selfless lifestyle.
“We call on the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime to extricate himself from direct blames over the continuous attacks on the SGF, using his office and security of his tenure as helmsman of the Shippers Council.
“More than any other person, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime knows that appointments to executive heads of federal agencies are done by the President. The continuous silence maintained by Emmanuel Jime in the face of attacks on the SGF using his office smacks mischief and a lot of complicity.
“Senator Akume can not and should not be made to pay for the political decisions of others. The man has always carried his own cross politically. Those who aspire to political leadership must learn to take responsibility for their actions or inactions and not to scapegoat others.”
Aku however advised that “To those who have offered themselves to be used as agents of destabilization and carriers of evil tales around Benue and the North Central, we urge them to abandon their evil path and take advantage of Senator Akume’s olive branch, and the inclusive leadership style being championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu where excellence and not blackmail/falsehood are the major qualification.”
