The internal crisis within the Benue chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) intensified on Monday as the dissolved Austin Agada-led faction announced the nomination of 23 chairmanship and 276 councillorship candidates ahead of the October 5 local government elections.
This development comes despite the recent dissolution of the Agada-led faction by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and amid ongoing legal battles.
The faction proceeded with primaries across all wards in the 23 local government areas on Saturday.
Just days earlier, the aggrieved executive members, who were removed by Ganduje, had taken legal action against him, accusing him of defying a court order that barred the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) from interfering with their tenure.
A Benue High Court had issued an ex parte order, instructing the APC to retain Agada and his team until their four-year term concluded.
The dispute within the Benue APC has deepened divisions between party members, particularly between supporters of Governor Hyacinth Alia and those of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
While Akume backs the Agada-led committee, Alia supports the rival faction led by Benjamin Omakolo.
Despite the court order, the APC leadership ignored the ruling, dissolving the Benue executive committee last Wednesday and setting up a seven-member caretaker committee to oversee the party’s state affairs for six months. The Agada-led faction has refused to recognize this move.
In a statement released on Monday, Agada asserted that the primary elections were conducted peacefully through consensus and affirmations.
Lazarus Asema, the APC chairman for Guma Local Government, praised the process and commended the party’s leadership for its effective organization.
The chairmanship candidates selected in the primaries include Elias Ogbu (Ado), Tarkaa Solomon (Konshisha), Chia Terna (Vandeikya), Atom Phillip (Kwande), Andrew Ocheme (Ogbadibo), Ogbole Mathew (Obi), Napoleon Otache (Agatu), Elias Ogbu (Ado), Eje Elvis (Apa), Washima Haris (Katsina-Ala), Ajeh Ogah (Ohimini), and Akombo Stephen (Logo), among others.
In Katsina-Ala, Simon Aluor, a participant in the primaries, highlighted the peaceful and orderly nature of the process.
Similarly, in Otukpo, party members turned out in large numbers to affirm their support for their chosen candidate, Oleho Augustine.