Nigerian Concord Newspaper
Details of the emergency meeting which Governor Hyacinth Alia’s delegation led by Chief Barnabas Gemade made to a former governor of Osun state, Chief Bisi Akande have emerged.
Personal Aides of Senator Gabriel Suswam who preferred not to be mentioned told Nigerian Concord Newspaper after the meeting that the meeting was as a result of President Bola Tinubu’s insistence that the Benue State governor should not be given a return ticket because he ignored a presidential order to give all serving National Assembly members from the state automatic tickets to contest the 2027 general elections under the platform of All Progressive Congress.
It was gathered that President Tinubu was very angry that Governor Alia granted an interview after last week’s reconciliation meeting between the two camps of the ruling party in Benue state and said that the issue of automatic tickets for serving National Assembly members who are still in the party was just a prayer and not an order from the president.
The angry Tinubu who found out that Governor Alia had been given his Nomination Forms by the APC national Secretariat reportedly instructed the party’s National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwadta should not accept the governor’s nomination forms for disobeying his order that all Senator George Akume’s men at the National Assembly be given automatic tickets to contest in 2027.
However, Governor Alia’s loyalists at the party’s National Secretariat informed him of the president’s directive against him , and this led to their emergency visit to Chief Bisi Akande yesterday.
Immediately Alia heard of the order that he shouldn’t be given a return ticket, he asked Gemade to lead him, Steven Lawani, Gabriel Suswam and some elders in his camp to Chief Bisi Akande to help him plead with the president.
At the meeting with Chief Akande, Governor Hyacinth Alia after several pleadings was given an undertaking to sign that he will never disobey any Presidential directive again.
He also agreed at the meeting with Chief Akande that all the serving National Assembly members will be given automatic tickets.
Suswam’s Aides who spoke with this newspaper after the meeting said that the former governor may be joining NDC any moment from now as his efforts to secure the APC ticket has crashed.
Suswam according to his Aides will be having a meeting with former Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson later today.