Nigerian Concord Newspaper
A former governor of Benue state and an aspirant for the national Chairmanship of the People’s Democratic Party, Senator Gabriel Suswam PhD has blamed the persistent disagreements between political “godfathers” and their ‘godsons’ on the “overbearing attitude” of the former.
Suswam spoke today in Abuja when asked to comment on the seeming quarrel between the governor of Benue state, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia and Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Suswam said: “In politics or in life generally, some people are always better placed to assist others. It means that those assisted should maintain some good relationship with those that assisted them.
“Most of the time, those assisted try to maintain a cordial relationship with such godfathers, but trouble starts when such godfathers become overbearing”
According to him, as much as the godson may want to listen to his godfather, there is always a limit to what he could take since he is duty bound to give an account of his stewardship to the people.
On the specific situation in Benue, Suswam said that he could not say much since he was not a member of their political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said: “I can’t say much about what is happening in Benue, but I am told that it is about the control of their political party. I don’t know the exact issues, but they are usually disagreements associated with power and who wields and controls it,”
Recall that Akume and Alia had been locked in a crisis since the later became governor on May 29 2023.
The crisis reached a crescendo last month when the party tore into two camps, one being loyal to Akume, while the other, to Alia.
Not long ago, the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, invited the duo to his palace for a reconciliation.
The two leaders, after meeting with the Tiv Traditional Council, embraced each other and promised to give peace a chance.