Benue Guber: I Won’t Step Down For Alia, Byuan Insists

A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress(APC) for Benue state, Dr Mathias Byuan, has said he is ready to slug it out with Governor Hyacinth Alia for the party’s ticket ahead of the 2027 general election.

Byuan, who was Alia’s main challenger for the same ticket in the 2023 polls, stated this while addressing journalists shortly after he submitted his expression of interest and nomination forms to the APC leadership in Abuja on Monday.

The former Executive Director, Housing Finance and Accounts of the Federal Housing Authority, spoke against the backdrop of a peace deal in Benue APC, under which the governor and all elected officeholders are to be supported for re-election.

“…The paramount thing is that all those elected on the platform of the APC, from the State Assembly to the National Assembly must still come back alongside the Governor”, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, declared at the meeting.

However, Byuan, the only contender with Governor Alia for the ticket, insisted that the party’s candidate must emerge through a credible, competitive process.

“This is the wish of the leader of the party who wants to reconcile people. But the Electoral Act says something different. We have to go to the field. I bought a form, and the governor and I will test the grounds.

“If he is popular, let him win. If I’m popular, I will win, and that is what we asked of the party, and Mr President has said people should go and test their popularity,” he said.

Byuan also called on the APC leadership to ensure a transparent primary process, which he would win if a level playing field is provided.

“I was just telling the committee in the hall, don’t allow the governor to submit names that will run with the election materials. Bring the materials to Benue, sit in one place with the security, and allow us to go to our various local governments to vote.

“The governor did nothing in the state. He did not work. I asked them, as the National Working Committee of the party: have you been invited to come and commission a project in Benue? They said no.

“There’s no project for three years. So my people in Benue are there to vote for me, and I assure you I will win that election before 2 pm,” he said.

Speaking on what he will do differently if given the mandate, Byuan said: “Number one is to make sure that Benue state has moved from a civil service state to an industrial state. Currently, young people in Benue have no jobs.

“There’s no way you can go and do a small business to make money. There’s no labour environment. If I’m a governor, I will create opportunities for youths to make money, such as infrastructure for stomachs and disaster management.

“So I’ll put certain things there that young people can go around to make money from the huge allocation coming from Abuja. It won’t be my personal money. The money belongs to Benue. So you make it such that the people of Benue will enjoy it.”