TOR TIV, OCH’IDOMA DRAG THRONES INTO POLITICS, BACK ALIA ON BENUE APC STRUCTURES

The Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse, and the Och’Idoma, Agabaidu Elaigwu Odogbo John, have stirred major controversy after openly stepping into the raging political battle over All Progressives Congress, APC structures in Benue State by writing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to support Governor Hyacinth Alia’s control of the party machinery.

The two paramount rulers who jointly signed the letter dated April 22, 2026, appealed to the President not to yield to pressures to alter the APC structures already handed to Governor Alia, a decision that is set to spark outrage among political stakeholders in Benue State who insist that royal fathers should remain neutral arbiters rather than active participants in political power struggles.

The traditional rulers on behalf of the Benue State Council of Traditional Rulers, the monarchs openly appealed to President Tinubu not to allow any change in the APC structure in Benue State

“We respectfully appeal to Your Excellency not to allow the APC structure in Benue State to be taken away from Governor Hyacinth Alia due to pressure from some political actors.”

The letter further praised Governor Hyacinth Alia for taking control of the party structure and urged the President to resist any attempt to alter it, assuring him that Benue will be delivered to Tinubu under the leadership of Governor Alia.

“Note that control of the party in the state has enabled the Governor to consolidate leadership, strengthen governance, and further align the state with the vision and progressive ideals of your administration. By this, he is now poised to deliver Benue to the APC at all levels in the 2027 general elections.”

For many political observers, that was the moment the royal fathers crossed the line from statesmanship into active partisan politics.

Traditionally, royal fathers are expected to serve as neutral custodians of culture, peace and unity – fathers to all, regardless of political affiliation. But critics argue that by taking sides in the bitter APC power struggle in Benue, the Tor Tiv and the Och’Idoma abandoned the moral high ground of the throne and openly aligned themselves with Governor Alia’s political camp.

The development has become even more contentious following the emergence of another memo from Governor Hyacinth Alia to President Tinubu shortly after receiving the royal endorsement.

Sadly, in the entire two-page letter, the Tor Tiv and Och’Idoma were silent on the spate of killings ongoing in the state. The two letters failed to appeal to President Tinubu to act decisively to end the bloodshed.