The Benue State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has dismissed rumours of an alleged breakdown in the relationship between the governor, Hyacinth Alia, and his godfather, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume.
According to the party, contrary to reports making the round, there is no sought conflict between the two APC chieftains.
The APC publicity secretary, Daniel Ihomu,n while speaking to the development, told Daily Trust, “There is no crack. There is no crack at all.” 
Naija News also gathered that Alia’s spokesman, Tersoo Kula, also said there was neither rift nor any crack between his principal and the SGF.
Their reaction follows speculation from Akume’s loyalists that Alia was on a collision course with Akume concerning the nomination of his commissioners.
Alia’s delay in forwarding any list of commissioner nominees to the State House of Assembly for confirmation has been raising dust among the people.
However, while some attributed the delay to Alia taking his time on the selection, some say he wants to exercise independence outside the influence of Akume, his godfather.
An insider in the APC who pleaded anonymity revealed that the governor had asked stakeholders from each of the 23 local government areas of the state to nominate three names each from their areas, from which he would pick one out of each list to make up his cabinet.
The source said the governor’s stands have annoyed party stalwarts, who believe that Akume should be allowed to make massive input in the nomination of the commissioners.
Speculation of a crisis or crack between Alia and Akume arose when Alia insisted on his preferred candidate as the Speaker of the House of Assembly instead of that of Akume.
A development that led to the belief that all vital appointments made so far had been Alia’s sole decision, without Akume’s influence.
For instance, the appointment of the SSG, Prof Joseph Alkali, the CoS, Paul Biam, and Speaker, Hyacinth Dajoh, were purely the governor’s choice.
This has caused Akume’s loyalists to slam Alia, saying it is too early for him to start asserting his independence too early in his four-year mandate as they contended that his insistence on having his way was a signal for a crack in the relationship between him and his ‘godfather.’
Meanwhile, debunking the speculation, Alia’s spokesman, Kula, told Daily Trust that his principal would meet with all the state APC stakeholders, including Akume, for their input in nominating his commissioners; only he wasn’t sure when the meeting would hold.
Kula stated that “The commissioners’ list will be forwarded to the state Assembly for screening as soon as it is ready. I don’t know about any disagreement between the governor and Akume. There is no such thing; I am not aware. But both of them are always meeting.
“That’s what I don’t know, but certainly, he (Akume) is a stakeholder. Stakeholders normally come together to make inputs. So, I know that when the time is right, the governor will meet with stakeholders. He told the party the last time they met. So, once the due consultations are done with stakeholders, the list would be out.”
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