Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The Benue State chapter of All Progressive Congress shouldn’t trust a former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr. Emmanuel Jime with its Northwest Senatorial Zone ticket if the party truly wants to have a head way in the 2027 general elections.
This is just as political groups in Jemgbah are agitating against Jime’s comment that he will still retain Speakership of the State House of Assembly which is for them to Mbagwen in 2027.
“Speakership is solely for Jemgbah but because the former speaker erred and the slot was given to Berger Alfred from Mbagwen, we didn’t complain but right now, we shall fight it if Jime is still looking for Senate after his clan has gotten the Speakership. That is greed and we will not accept that from Jemgbah” a leader of one of the groups said..
Presidential sources said that the Presidency, the party’s national Secretariat as well as the state government under Governor Hyacinth Alia shouldn’t trust him as a result of his serial betrayal and anti party activities.
Findings by this newspaper showed that Emmanuel Jime had at many times identified with the African Democratic Congress before the official pronouncement of the party’s National Working Committee that state governors are leaders of the party in their respective states.
It was gathered further by this newspaper that he wasn’t reappointed as the head of the Nigerian Shippers Council by the administration of President Bola Tinubu as a result of his confirmed anti parties activities during the last presidential election.
Jime, according to sources was accused by the Chief of Staff of the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila of secretly working with some enemies of the president like Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Godwin Emefiele and others to ensure that APC didn’t win the last presidential election. “He was promised the same senatorial ticket if he could work with another candidate (name withheld) to win the presidential election in 2023” a source within the Aso Villa said.
Meanwhile, another source said that Jime was working on the instruction of his then employer, Late President Muhammadu Buhari to work against Bola Tinubu during the election.
“The decision from the Presidency under Buhari was that all appointees should work against President Bola Tinubu during the election because he wasn’t the candidate of the then president. So Jime was acting under the instruction of the late Buhari to stop Tinubu from winning the election” another top source at the Presidency said.
Also, when he was projected for a ministerial position from Benue state, the President’s Chief of Staff outrightly removed his name with an explanation that a betrayer would not be given any role to play in the administration.
Recently, Jime was shuttling between Rotimi Amaechi and Herman Hembe to seek for a soft landing in African Democratic Congress, ADC. This newspapers had reported how he was collecting funds from the former Rivers State governor to hold meetings for the coalition across Benue state.
According to sources, Jime who thought he had fallen out of favour with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume wasn’t sure that the structure of the party would be given to Father Hyacinth Alia during the last APC NEC meeting so he was looking for a soft landing in the ADC.
“This explains why he (Jime) was always absent at critical events of the Benue State APC especially the Pre-decamping dinner and the major stakeholders meeting recently held in Makurdi” a top member of the APC state executive in Makurdi told this newspaper
However, during the 2025 Christmas festivity, Barrister Jime collected several cows, several bags of rice and funds running to several millions of Naira from some of the local government chairmen in Benue Northwest. He also got some from the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Berger Alfred.
But to their disappointment, Barrister Jime only shared few of these items and funds to APC members. He diverted the rest and shared them to members of the opposition African Democratic Congress in Benue state against his own party.
Apart from that, Jime reportedly visited a governorship aspirant of the ADC in Benue state, Mr. Herman Hembe few days to the Christmas celebration and got a sum of N10million which he also shared to ADC leaders and members across Benue Northwest Senatorial Zone. “The fund was directly from Rotimi Amaechi” a source noted.
Meanwhile, several advocacy groups have condemned Jime’s senatorial ambition, describing it as an act of greed since he is from the same Mbagwen clan with the current Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
Apart from Berger, a former member of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Kudi Thomas is from the same Mbagwen clan, an explanation which has affected Barrister Jime as regards zoning arrangement.
The groups which have protested against Jime’s senatorial ambition also said that the party’s zoning arrangement doesn’t favour him as his Ihyerev has produced senator twice.
The groups also asked Jime to mention his achievements while he was Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Members of the House of Representatives, and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council.
The groups also asked him to explain to the public why he has been living like a foreigner in his own state by not having a single building in the state.
According to the groups, Jime should explain why he hasn’t been able to excel as a lawyer for thirty five years not to talk of getting the position of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The group also asked him to mention his investment and ties to Benue state if truly he is serious to be senator.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the Benue State chapter of the APC Will be having a serious problem and trust issues with the Presidency and the national Secretariat of the party if Jime who worked against President Bola Tinubu in the last elections is considered for the party’s ticket.