*Nentawe’s Acknowledgment of Akume as Leader
By Morgan Adikwu
Yesterday, October 4, 2025, Nigeria’s political heavyweights gathered in Jos to bid farewell to the late Mama Lydia Toma Yilwatda, beloved mother of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda. One notable absence that spoke louder than the solemn hymns was that of the Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia
The burial, held at the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) Headquarters in Jos, drew the presence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, several governors, ministers, and key political figures from across the country.
Leading the Benue delegation were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and APC leader in Benue and the North Central, Sen. Dr. George Akume, and the Benue APC Chairman, Dr. Austin Agada, who joined the president and other dignitaries to honour the octogenarian matriarch.
Yet, despite the attendance of his colleagues and the show of solidarity from Benue’s top political figures, Governor Alia was conspicuously missing, a move that has continued to draw scrutiny and criticism.
Reliable sources within the APC confirmed that Alia’s absence was directly linked to Prof. Nentawe’s recent public acknowledgment of Akume as “a leader and father,” a remark that deeply unsettled the governor and further exposed the widening gulf between him and the APC hierarchy.
For those close to the unfolding events, it was no coincidence; Alia’s decision was a deliberate political statement, a continuation of his well-known craving for absolute control and his disregard for established party structures.
Prof. Nentawe’s bond with Benue runs deep. Having served as a lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi since the 1990s and later as INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, he is seen as one of Benue’s own. His mother’s death was therefore felt as a personal loss within the state.
Many believed her burial presented an opportunity for unity, a moment for leaders to set aside political differences and stand together in grief. That was precisely why Akume and Agada led a strong Benue delegation to Jos, reaffirming the deep emotional and political connection between the Yilwatda family and Benue.
Governor Alia’s absence, however, broke that line of unity. To his critics, it was a continuation of his recurring pattern of isolation and defiance , a reflection of the same political arrogance that has characterized his dealings with party elders and structures.
Since assuming office, he has often distanced himself from collective APC activities, preferring to operate as a lone authority rather than a team player within the party. His decision to shun the burial, even in the presence of the President, the Senate President, and fellow governors, was viewed as an act of pride and political intolerance rather than principle.
For a governor who projects an image of moral authority, Alia’s silence in a moment of shared grief revealed a contradiction between faith and conduct. The burial of Nana Lydia Yilwatda was not just a family affair; it was a national moment that drew the country’s political and moral compass to Jos.
Her son’s contributions to Benue through years of service made her passing a matter of communal sorrow. To stay away from such a gathering, many argue, was a failure of empathy and leadership.
Leadership, as often said, is not tested by the grandeur of office but by the humility to share in the pain of others. While Akume, Agada, and other dignitaries stood with the Yilwatda family in their hour of loss, Alia’s absence became a defining statement, one that cast a shadow on his political image and reaffirmed his growing detachment from both his party and the people who once saw him as a symbol of hope.
In Jos, where faith, fraternity, and power converged to honour a mother of grace, the governor’s empty seat told its own story, that of a leader still at war with his own shadow.
