By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — Members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Integrity Group in Benue South Senatorial District have declared support for President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group, which said it remains within the NDC, announced the decision on Friday during a courtesy visit to Moro at the National Assembly in Abuja.

The development means the group is backing Tinubu for president and Moro for the Benue South senatorial seat, despite both candidates belonging to different political parties from the NDC.

The group also declared support for the strategic alliance being led in Benue State by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.

Speaking during the visit, the group’s Zonal Coordinator, Hon. Yakubu Audu, said the decision to support Moro was based on what members described as the need to sustain Benue South’s representation and voice in the Senate.

Audu said Moro’s experience as senator representing the district and Senate Minority Leader since 2019 informed the group’s decision.

“The voice you have been giving the Benue South Senatorial District in the Senate as Minority Leader needs to be sustained in the 11th National Assembly,” he said.

He added that the group had decided to support a candidate outside its party in what it described as the broader interest of the senatorial district.

The State Coordinator of the group, Emmanuel Orih, said the arrangement formed part of its electoral coalition strategy.

“For the 2027 general election, particularly for Benue South, our concept is electoral coalition. This is making us to prefer Senator Abba Moro of the PDP as our candidate for the senatorial election and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC as our preferred presidential candidate,” Orih said.

“We are in the NDC, but we see Senator Abba Moro as the most suitable candidate for Benue South Senatorial District and President Bola Tinubu as the preferred candidate for the presidency.”

Moro, while receiving the group, thanked its members for what he described as placing the interests of Benue South above partisan considerations.

He linked the development to the broader political alliance being promoted in the state by Akume and said political choices should be based on what candidates had done in office as well as their promises.

On the presidential election, Moro cited federal road projects, including the Abuja-Keffi-Makurdi road and work on the Otukpo-Enugu federal highway, as examples of what he described as tangible achievements of the Tinubu administration.

He said the same consideration should be applied in choosing a candidate for the Benue governorship election.

Moro also criticised the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia over what he described as inadequate attention to Benue South.

“I am not against Father Alia but against the government led by him. I am not against the Tiv nation but against the Tiv man who has no regard for the existence of other tribes in the state,” he said.

The NDC Integrity Group’s endorsement comes amid wider political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with members of some political parties publicly declaring support for candidates outside their parties.