The Zonal Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress in Benue State have claimed that the crisis within the party is between the Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, and the party, and not with Comr. Austin Agada and the leader of the party in the state and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen George Akume, as people speculate.
The Zonal Chairmen, led by Zone C Chairman, Bishop Pinot Ogbaji, made this known in a no-holds-barred press conference in Makurdi on Thursday.
Ogbaji disclosed that the heightened crisis in the Benue APC is because of Gov. Alia’s disregard for the party since his inauguration and the lack of consultation with the leadership of the party in the appointment of caretaker committee chairmen of local government councils in the state.
According to him, the party was not pushing to seize the powers of the governor, he must consult in good faith rather than allowing the party to micro-zone local government caretaker committee positions before discarding them and appointing persons unknown to the party.
Ogbaji explained that the condition of Benue State APC is like “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.”
He further claimed that Governor Alia seemed to have more confidence in patronising people outside the APC.
He however warned that the “emergency APC stakeholders” he consults were those who kicked against his emergence as the party’s flagbearer in the last election, noting that they victimized him with litigation until it terminated at the Supreme Court.
According to him, the last trip of the so-called party stakeholders leaves much to ponder about, especially as Sen Barnabas Gemade, who imposed monumental litigation against Alia, led the likes of Sen Ameh Ebute, who fought against the nomination of the deputy Gov, Sam Ode, on a journey to the governor.