The internal crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress in Benue State has deepened with Governor Hyacinth Alia allegedly sealing the secretariat of the party’s faction loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
In a statement on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, Alia halted a scheduled State Executive Committee meeting convened by the Akume faction, led by Austin Agada.
Alia and Akume have been in a running show of force over the control of the Benue APC, with Agada leading the Akume’s faction while Benjamin Omakolo is the acting chairman of the Alia faction.
The two factions had scheduled parallel State Executive Council meetings for Thursday, but Alia, in a statement, banned the SEC meeting by the Akume faction.
The CPS said, “The Governor has, therefore, called off the purported meeting, warning that there will be consequences if any person or group attempts to disrupt the peace of the state by converging for any unauthorised meeting.”
He quoted Alia as saying, “The last time I checked, I am still the APC leader in the state. No APC meeting can be summoned without my knowledge.
“Not just that, as the Chief Security Officer in the state, I should know when a legitimate gathering is supposed to hold.
“Nigeria is not a lawless state and so is Benue state. Those who think they can undermine the authority of the state must know this and know peace.”
When contacted, the state Publicity Secretary of Agada-led exco, Daniel Ihomun, accused Governor Alia of hounding the Akume’s loyalists by sending ‘miscreants’ to loot their secretariat.
“The governor has sealed up the secretariat and some miscreants were sent and looted the secretariat,” Ihomun said.
Our correspondent, who visited the party secretariat along J.S. Tarka Way, observed that construction of the road had commenced.
As at the time of filing this report, the meeting convened by Alia’s faction had yet to commence.