The ongoing feud within the Benue State branch of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not with Comr. Austtin Agada, but rather with the state Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, according to the Zonal Chairmen of the party. They made this declaration during a press conference in Makurdi, led by Bishop Pinot Ogbaji, the Zone C chairman.
The chairmen emphasized that the party’s current crisis stems from Governor Alia’s disregard for the party and his failure to consult with them in the appointment of caretaker committee chairmen of local government councils in the state. They clarified that the party’s intention is not to undermine the governor’s authority but to ensure that he engages in sincere consultations, rather than unilaterally appointing individuals unknown to the party for local government caretaker committee positions.
Ogbaji drew a comparison, likening the state of Benue State APC to that of “a helpless husband with a very beautiful wife that sleeps around with only his neighbours and enemies while he, the lawful husband, is deprived of his conjugal rights.”
The chairmen warned Governor Alia about his preference for patronising individuals outside the APC, cautioning him that the “emergency APC stakeholders” he consults were the very ones who opposed his emergence as the party’s flagbearer in the last election, subjecting him to litigation that culminated at the Supreme Court.
Bishop Ogbaji highlighted the recent gathering of so-called party stakeholders, noting the involvement of Sen Barnabas Gemade and Sen Ameh Ebute, who had contentious histories with Governor Alia.
