United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) was a political party in Nigeria during the nation's First Republic. The Party was a fusion of two major middle belt organizations, the Middle Zone League and the Middle Belt Peoples' Party. The party was formed to create a political platform for the various ethnic groups in central Nigeria covering parts of present day Benue State

Benue State

Benue is a state in the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria with a population of about 2.8 million in 1991. Tiv, Idoma, and Igede are spoken predominantly. There are other ethnic groups as well. These include Etulo and Abakwa...

, Kogi State

Kogi State

Kogi state is found in the central region of Nigeria. It is popularly called the Confluence State because the confluence of River Niger and River Benue is at its capital, Lokoja, which is the first administrative capital of modern-day Nigeria....

, Plateau State

Plateau State

Plateau State is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is roughly located in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries totally surround the Jos Plateau, having the Jos Plateau totally in its central and northern part...

, Nasarawa State

Nasarawa State

Nasarawa State is a state in central Nigeria. Its capital is Lafia.-History:Nasarawa was created on 1 October 1996 by the Abacha government from the Plateau State.-Geography:...

, Adamawa State

Adamawa State

Adamawa is a state in northeastern Nigeria, with its capital at Yola. It was formed in 1991 from part of Gongola State with four administrative divisions namely: Adamawa, Ganye, Mubi and Numan. It is one of the thirty-six States which constitute the Federal Republic of Nigeria.-Geography:Adamawa...

 and Kwara State

Kwara State

Kwara State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Ilorin. The primary ethnic group of Kwara State is Yoruba, with significant Nupe, Bariba and Fulani minorities.- History :...

. Its establishment was an act to ensure an alternative minority voice in the Northern Nigeria Assembly which was dominated by the Northern People's Congress, a political party which the central Nigerian leaders felt had the potential to curb the middle belt's political voice. The UMBC in due time, became the largest opposition party in the Northern Nigeria Assembly. In 1958, the UMBC entered into an alliance with the Southwest Nigeria dominant Action Group

Action group

In sociology and anthropology, an action group or task group is a group of people joined temporarily to accomplish some task or take part in some organized collective action....

 of Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Obafemi Awolowo

Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician, trade unionist, author and statesman. A Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, he started his career as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries and was responsible for much of the progressive...

.

Party Structure

Some of the early leaders of the UMBC were Joseph Tarka

Joseph Tarka

Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka was a Nigerian politician from Benue State and a former minister for Transport and then Communications under General Yakubu Gowon...

, David Lot, Patrick Dokotri, Edward Kundu Swem, Ahmadu Angara, Isaac Shaahu

Isaac Shaahu

Isaac Shaahu is a Nigerian politician from what is termed the middle belt of Nigeria. He was a cabinet minister in the aborted second republic. He later became Chairman of the Middle Belt Forum.-References:...

 (Northern Assembly Opposition Leader), Solomon Lar, D. Bulus Biliyong, D.D. Dimka, V.T. Shisha, M.D. Iyorka, and Ugba Uyeh.
The party adopted a decentralized nomination system whereby local ethnic unions or special committees in a given area nominated and presented candidates for local elections, this was partly used to validate the ethnic diversity of the party.