The Benue state national Assembly caucus of the All progressives Congress (APC) have thrown their weights behind the Comrade Austin Agada led executive committee.
Spokesperson of the caucus, Mr Philip Agbese assured that with Agada at the helm of affairs in the state, the party would sweep all elective seats in the 2027 poll.
Agbese who spe when he met with the Agada led executive committee members at the national Assembly faulted the notions held in certain quarters that the crisis bedeviling the state chapters would affect the fortunes of the party in the state.
He attributed the feat recorded by the party to the invaluable contribution of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Dr. George Akume.
“The year 2027 will not be different from what you have seen. The only difference is that, in 2027, if we are not mistaken, we might be having all the three Senators inside the Senate and all the eleven House of Reps in the 11th Assembly,” he said.
“That is the only thing that we might be looking out for in 2020, because we are solid, we are working hard.That also informs the essence of this working visit so that we and the Members of the National Assembly can be on one page and also a reminder of our campaign promises to the people.”
To buttress his assertion, Agada said the APC in Benue presently boast of producing the occupant of the governorship seat, two Senators out of the three Senate seats from Benue State; 10 House of Reps Members out of the 11 Federal Constituencies in our state and 21 House of Assembly Members, including the recent rerun State Assembly that was done in Guma 1 constituency, state constituency.
Agbese who admitted that Senator Akume remains the leader of the party in Benue State, eulogized the leadership qualities of Agada.
He said, “Mr. Chairman, you are one of the best state chairmen of political parties as far as this country is concerned. State chairmen of APC in other states are envying your feat. PDP chairmen in other states are envious of you.
“Mr. Chairman, we in the National Assembly caucus have no reason but to love you. You have given birth to all of us as our mother. If you are not a bad child, will you go after your own mother?
“The woman who gave birth to all of us in the National Assembly, in Government House and even in the State House of Assembly, is this man, Comrade Austin Agada.
” It does not matter whether in the course of the pregnancy, there was a time your mother refused to eat the right meal for you to be okay or not. What is important is that she endured the pains of labour and you were born and you were nurtured.
“Mr. Chairman, on behalf of all of us, what I will say to you today, remember the story of Jesus Christ in the scripture, when he healed ten, only one came back to give thanks to him. But in the National Assembly today, ten of us were voted into the House of Representatives.
” I want to say that your case is even better than that of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, because, out of the two Senators that you gave birth to, the two are still standing tall to say thank you for giving birth to us, and in House of Representatives, we are still intact for APC.
“Your visit today is to strengthen all of us and to continue to remind us of the campaign promises we made back to our people. And to always work in line with the party manifesto. Mr. Chairman, I am deeply honored by this visit.
“I want to rededicate my loyalty, my unflinching loyalty to the party. For many of them, they have other alternatives. But for us, we have no other alternatives. We will live and die in this party, and we will never serve two masters. We will always serve the one and only true God, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. And our loyalty will always be to the leader of the party, his Excellency, Dr. George Akume.
“The Bible says, no man shall have two masters. That is the scripture. It was there before we all came. It doesn’t matter who is a Bishop, it doesn’t matter who is a Reverend or whatever. But Jesus Christ has already said it that you cannot serve two masters. So, even those who have been led astray by the special grace of God, they know within their hearts that they have only one master.
“That a man is sinning does not mean that he has renounced Jesus. Even when you go to the beer parlour to do the things that you are not supposed to do as a Christian, something tells you within your mind that you have betrayed Jesus. So those that are betraying the leader today, I know that their consciences are disturbing them”.
Agbese said the working visit was timely, as it would afford the Lawmakers to always remember their electioneering campaigns with the people, urging those who don’t want to respect the supremacy of the party to find alternative abode in other political parties.
“And by God’s grace, when you finish with the Reps Members at the course of time, you also extend this visit to the Senate so that all of us will continue to live by the party’s manifesto and the promises that you people made, even on our behalf to people that we did not campaign to. But based on their belief in this party, they voted for us.
“I am not a product of any popularity. I’m not a product of any financial muscle. I’m a product of APC. For those who have become super positive, in the next election, they can try YPP and see how far their popularity will take them”, he added.
Those on the tour with Agada include, Benue South Zonal Chairman, Bishop Pinot Ogbaji; State Financial Secretary, Hon. David Hangeior Akaan; the Publicity Secretary, Hon. Daniel Morgan Ihomun; Auditor, Hon. Simon Aluor; Director, Media and ICT, Amb. Martinez Ibn Tyotsumeh; former Reps Member, Hon. Bernard Ochepa; Amb. Mathew Adoli; former State Chairman, Comrade Abba Yaro; amongst many state and zonal officials.
