The internal crisis within the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress shows no signs of abating as the Austin Agada-led faction and that of Benjamin Omakolo reignited their bitter battle for legitimacy and supremacy in Makurdi on Monday.
The verbal skirmish escalated after the Agada-led faction, backed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Dr. George Akume, inaugurated members of an Ad Hoc Zoning Committee at an undisclosed location in Makurdi ahead of the local government elections in the state.
In a press statement following the committee’s inauguration, the party’s Publicity Secretary in Benue State, Hon Daniel Ihonmu, revealed that Agada mandated the committee to ensure the inclusion of party stakeholders in the zoning process in each zone of the state.
He also announced that the State Working Committee of the party had approved the sale of Expression of Interest and Nomination forms, with Chairmanship forms priced at N100,000 and N250,000, respectively, and Councillorship forms at N50,000 and N100,000, respectively.
However, in a counter press statement issued shortly after, the faction led by Hon Benjamin Omakolo, and backed by the Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, through the factional Organizing Secretary of the party, Hon James Ornguga, cautioned APC members in the state against what he termed “Diaspora Yahoo Arrangements”.
He urged party members to disregard any notices concerning local government elections originating from Daniel Ihonmu, stating that all election correspondences would come from him as empowered by the party’s constitution.
Ornguga warned, “Do not be a victim of their Abuja Yahoo Yahoo arrangements cooked in a foreign wine bar, away from the state to hoodwink unsuspecting party members. The party cannot begin the sale of forms without the due approval of the State Executive Council and His Excellency, Gov. Hyacinth Alia, who is the State Leader of the party. Therefore, all guidelines regarding the forthcoming elections would be originally unveiled at the appropriate time. Anyone who pays money into any account made available by the Benue APC diaspora group does so at their personal risk”.
It is worth noting that a few months ago, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, ordered security agencies to lock up the state Secretariat of APC, banning all party activities in the state due to worsening insecurity. However, a month later, the Governor directed the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission to prepare and conduct local government elections.
The ongoing wrangling reflects a battle of supremacy between the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Akume, and Governor Alia over who should lead the party and control its structures in the state.
