2027: Nigerian Legal Scholar Sebastine Hon Enters Benue Governorship Race, Challenging Incumbent on Equity Grounds
A prominent Nigerian lawyer and law professor, Sebastine Hon. a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has launched his bid for the 2027 governorship of Benue State, aiming to oust incumbent Governor Hyacinth Alia.
Hon, a respected figure in Nigeria’s legal circles, shared his plans during informal community consultations on Monday in the Mbayion clan and Mbatiav communities of Gboko Local Government Area, Benue State
These visits, held in Ihungwanor and Akapher, complied with electoral rules set by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which has not yet opened official campaigning.
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Describing his candidacy as “divinely inspired,” Hon expressed strong confidence in securing victory.
Central to his pitch is Benue’s zoning policy, a rotational power-sharing formula designed to ensure equitable representation across the state’s three senatorial zones amid Nigeria’s diverse ethnic landscape.
Hon contends that the system has been unevenly applied, creating political imbalances.
Drawing on historical data, he noted that leaders from Zone A, including former governors Aper Aku (4 years and 3 months), Rev. Moses Orshio Adasu (1 year, 10 months, and 17 days), Gabriel Suswam (8 years), and current Governor Alia (projected 4 years), have collectively held power for about 18 years and 17 days.
Zone B, he added, has fared slightly better with 16 years under George Akume and Samuel Ortom (each serving 8 years), but recent decisions by Alia have further eroded the arrangement.
Examples include reallocating local government chairmanships, such as Vandeikya to Kyan instead of Tiev, and Kwande to Shangev-Ya instead of Turan and shifting the state assembly speaker’s role from Jemgbagh to the MINDA bloc.
Community leaders welcomed Hon’s consultations. Aondona Dajo, a former speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly; Terfa Usoho, ex-president-general of the Mbatiav Development Association; and Terfa Chagba, a Mbayion stakeholder, argued that with all zones having produced governors before, any qualified candidate should contest freely in 2027.
A key moment came in Mbatiav, where Hon paid respects to the Traditional Council in Akapher, seeking blessings from local rulers, a nod to Nigeria’s blend of modern democracy and cultural traditions.
As Nigeria gears up for its next state elections, Hon’s challenge highlights ongoing debates over federalism, equity, and governance in one of the country’s agrarian heartlands, home to the Tiv ethnic group and frequent flashpoints for farmer-herder conflicts.
