Former Benue State governor Gabriel Suswam declared on Thursday that the state is fully behind President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia ahead of the 2027 elections. Speaking at the All Progressives Congress (APC) state secretariat in Makurdi, Suswam, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, said Benue is now an APC state. He claimed the state is "completely locked down" for Tinubu, Alia and other APC candidates. Suswam credited President Tinubu's economic reforms for his decision to join the party, describing them as courageous despite short-term hardships. He noted that Benue has produced a secretary to the government of the federation and a grade A minister under Tinubu's administration, which he said should motivate support for the president's re-election. Suswam praised Governor Alia for continuing projects started by past administrations and urged him to maintain that approach. He did not rule out contesting for office in 2027, stating all options remain open. APC State Chairman Benjamin Omale welcomed Suswam's defection, calling it a major political statement. Omale thanked Tinubu for his stance on APC structures in Benue and pledged the state's full support for the president in 2027.
Gabriel Suswam's dramatic shift from the PDP to the APC—and his immediate declaration that Benue is "completely locked down" for Tinubu and Alia—signals less a grassroots political shift than a top-down realignment driven by patronage and positioning. The former governor's emphasis on Benue securing a secretary to the government of the federation and a grade A minister under Tinubu points to influence and access as the real currency behind his endorsement. This is not a story of ideological conversion but of political calculus, where defections are measured in federal appointments and perceived returns on loyalty.
Benue's political landscape has long been shaped by elite competition rather than party ideology, and Suswam's move fits squarely within that tradition. His assertion that the state has "always been a one-party state" reveals a pattern where power consolidates around whichever party controls federal largesse. The praise for Alia's continuity on projects—regardless of origin—further underscores a shift toward governance as optics, where visible maintenance trumps transformative planning. With the 2027 election cycle already in motion, such endorsements are less about policy and more about securing relevance in an increasingly centralized political economy.
For ordinary Benue residents, the immediate impact lies in whether this alignment translates into tangible infrastructure, job creation or economic relief, especially amid the economic reforms Suswam defends. Farmers, civil servants and small business owners bear the brunt of macroeconomic adjustments, and their support cannot be assumed simply because political elites have aligned. The promise of "bigger and better dividends of democracy" rings hollow without measurable improvements in daily life.
This episode reflects a broader trend in Nigerian politics: the subordination of state-level party structures to federal patronage networks. Defections like Suswam's are not about ideology but about positioning within the power architecture of the ruling party. As 2027 approaches, more such moves are likely, not because of public demand, but because of the incentives built into Nigeria's political marketplace.
