Nigerian Concord Newspaper
A fresh crisis has hit the Benue State chapter of All Progressive Congress as a result of plans by the governor of the state, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia to remove the speaker of the State House of Assembly, Dajoh Aondona.
The governor has also endorsed the member representing Makurdi North in the House of Assembly, Hon. Berger Alfred as a replacement once Dajoh is impeached.
Nigerian Concord Newspaper gathered that the governor and Hon. Dajoh have been at logger heads since two weeks ago after a news reached him that the speaker held a secret meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume in Lafia, the capital city of Nasarawa state.
Hon. Dajoh had denied meeting Akume in Lafia but this newspaper can authoritatively report that the speaker had a meeting with the SGF that fateful day before he (Akume) boarded the aircraft that took him to the capital of Nasarawa state for the decamping.
Dr. Akume was in Lafia for the official decamping ceremony of some politician into the All Progressive Congress.
Alia’s men had accused Dajoh of traveling to meet Akume secretly in Lafia on the order of the SGF who reportedly discussed the planned impeachment of Benue governor.
At the Lafia meeting, Akume was said to have threatened Dajoh that he would be removed to pave way for Becky Orpine as speaker if he refused to join the twenty one members of the State Assembly that have pledged their loyalty to Akume to impeach Governor Alia.
Alia’s men said Dajoh agreed to back the impeachment process of their principal since it became apparent to him that Senator Akume already has the required 2/3 majority of the state lawmakers to his side.
However, it was discussed that the deputy governor, Dr. Sam Ode too would go down with Alia so that Dajoh can be made an acting governor for six months that a fresh election would be conducted for one of the former governorship aspirants of the party to emerge as the substantive governor the state.
Asked about Ode’s fate considering his closeness and loyalty to Senator Akume, the SGF was said to have told the speaker that the deputy governor would be given a federal appointment after his impeachment.
This information angered the governor’s handlers who threatened to deal with Speaker Aondona Dajoh for betraying the man who made him speaker.
One of Alia’s handler who is also the caretaker chairman of Gboko local government, Mr. Abraham Agber had been arrested and detained at the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja for attempting to assassinate the speaker over the rumoured Lafia meeting with the SGF.
Recall that the governor played a major role in the emergence of Dajoh to emerge as the speaker of the Assembly, an action which was against the decision of the leadership of the party in the state to install a member of Senator George Akume political family, Hon. Becky Orpine as the speaker.
The governor was said to have given N20m to each of all the PDP lawmakers in the State House of Assembly to secure their votes for Aondona Dajoh during the Speakership race.
The intrigues that preceded the Speakership election however led to the Chief of staff to the governor, Rt. Hon. Paul Biam to slap the suspended state chairman of the party, Comrade Austin Agada at the Assembly Complex.
Nigerian Concord Newspaper gathered that Governor Alia’s men have made him know that his seat won’t be secured unless he removes Dajoh as the speaker and install his own person as his successor.