There was pandemonium at the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) secretariat in Benue State on Thursday after security operatives broke into the building and disrupted an ongoing press conference.
Our correspondent reports that the internal crisis between the party’s executive at the state and ward level got messier on Wednesday, following the vote-of-no-confidence passed on the state chairman, Austin Agada.
Agada’s purported suspension by the Godwin Abah-led executive of the Owukpa Ehaje 1 ward was, however, reversed by the National Secretariat of the APC.
However, Peter Onoja, who claimed to be the authentic Ward Chairman of the Owukpa Ehaje 1 APC, was on Thursday addressing journalists at the party secretariat’s hall, christened Tinubu’s House, when the security operatives suddenly broke into the place and ordered everyone out.
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The security operatives comprising personnel of the Nigerian Army in a Hilux van and policemen were strategically positioned at the entrance of the party’s secretariat.
The pandemonium lasted for about 30 minutes, even as the melee which ensued attracted bystanders and caused a stir along the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka road in Makurdi, where the APC secretariat is located.
Earlier, Onoja had told journalists that the said Abah was a former chairman, who was allegedly suspended for alleged financial misappropriation and who still kept parading himself as the chairman.
Onoja said, “I’m the ward chairman. We are here to pass a vote of confidence on our state chairman, Austin Agada, on President Bola Tinubu and his vice president, Shettima,” he said.
Reacting to the disruption caused by the security operatives, state chairman of APC, Agada, queried the reason behind the action as he noted that the ward executives were at the secretariat to pay him a solidarity visit over his recognition by the party’s national secretariat.
Our correspondent had reported how bitter rivalry continues to tear apart the ruling APC in the state as various factions fight for the soul of the party.
Political observers had said the crux of the crisis lies on the doorstep of the state governor, Hyacinth Alia and his perceived ‘godfather’, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, over alleged control of the party structure in the state with their loyalists doing the exchanges on their behalf.
While the state governor and party leadership last month, said they had decided to bury the hatchet and work together, the latest development, according to observers, indicated that all is not yet well between the warring groups.
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