APC dissolves Agada-led Benue chapter exco despite court order

In defiance of a state High Court order, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has dissolved the Mr. Augustine Agada-led Benue State Working Committee.

APC’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who subsequently inaugurated a seven-member Caretaker Committee led by Mr. Benjamin Omale to run the affairs of the party in the state, maintained that the action was in the best interest of the party.

Ganduje, who mandated them to run the affairs of the party within the next six months, charged them to conduct the party primaries leading to the local council elections in the state.

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Ganduje explained that the seven-member Caretaker Committee was drawn from the conflicting interest groups at loggerheads with each other in the state over the running of the party.

The Kano-born politician argued that the party had to intervene since it could not sit and watch the crisis rocking the Benue State chapter persist with the local council elections around the corner.

“We cannot allow the problem of factions, litigations, and counter-litigations to continue. The NWC would not allow that to continue. The party must be united,” he said.

While congratulating members of the Caretaker Committee, he charged them to liaise with stakeholders to ensure the return of unity among party stalwarts in the state.

Agada had earlier in the day approached the party leadership with a copy of a Benue State High Court order granted by Justice Theresa Igoche in motion no. MH /1585m/2024, directing the Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje-led National Working Committee (NWC) not to remove the Hon. Austin Agada-led State Working Committee until the expiration of their four-year tenure.

The judge, while granting the ex parte application by Agada and eight others, restrained the APC, either by itself, its privies, assigns, staff, officers, servants, agents, representatives, or whomever, from removing, changing, replacing, or terminating his tenure and other members of the Benue State Working Committee of the Respondent until the expiration of their four-year term in office pending the determination of the motion on notice.

He said, “I have looked at the processes filed along with the application, particularly Exhibit MT ‘1’ attached to the affidavit in support, and I am satisfied that the application has merit,” the judge declared while granting the prayers of Agada.

“In the circumstances, I hereby grant the application as prayed.”

The judge thereby ordered that the order be served on the APC forthwith, along with the motion on notice fixed for hearing on the 28th of this month.

The Benue State chapter of the APC is split along the lines of Governor Hyacinth Alia, who is in support of the Benjamin Omale-led faction, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who is in support of the Agada-led working committee of the party.