Former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam has criticised members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for attending meetings of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), calling their actions a betrayal of party loyalty. Speaking in an interview aired on ARISE News on Monday, Suswam described such political ambivalence as a sign of compromised integrity. He argued that politicians who attend meetings of opposing parties lack principle and clarity in their political alignment. "If you are in the APC, you cannot be attending PDP meetings. That shows you have no integrity," Suswam stated. His remarks come amid growing speculation about shifting political alliances in Benue State ahead of the 2027 elections. Suswam, a former two-term governor and current PDP member, did not name specific individuals but suggested that some APC members were already positioning themselves for possible defections. The comment has reignited debate over political consistency and loyalty in the state's volatile political landscape. Benue has seen frequent party-switching in recent years, with several lawmakers and local government chairmen changing affiliations. Suswam's warning appears aimed at deterring opportunistic moves and reinforcing party discipline within the PDP.
Gabriel Suswam's public rebuke of APC members attending PDP meetings cuts to the heart of Nigeria's political culture, where party affiliation often serves as a vehicle for personal advancement rather than ideological commitment. His statement—"If you are in the APC, you cannot be attending PDP meetings. That shows you have no integrity"—is less about current attendees and more a strategic warning ahead of the 2027 elections. As a two-term governor and seasoned political operator, Suswam understands that Benue's political marketplace runs on movement, not loyalty, and his words signal an attempt to control the narrative before the realignment begins.
The context is critical: Benue has become a microcosm of Nigeria's broader political fluidity, where elected officials switch parties with little consequence. Suswam's own journey from PDP to a brief 2023 presidential run under the SDP, before returning to the PDP, underscores that even critics of party-hopping are not immune to it. Yet his timing is deliberate—by casting doubt on the integrity of APC members with PDP links, he undermines potential rivals and frames defections as moral failures, not just political shifts.
For ordinary Benue residents, especially voters in council and state constituencies, this theatrics offers little relief. They bear the brunt of unstable governance, as elected officials shift allegiance for appointments or contracts, not policy. When party loyalty is transactional, accountability evaporates.
This episode fits a national pattern: parties function as personal brands, not institutions, and elections become contests of movement rather than mandates.
