Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The crisis between the governor of Benue state, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume has taken a new dimension just as the reconciliatory move made by Vice President Kassim Shettima yesterday failed.
Vice President Shettima who was accompanied on a working visit to Makurdi yesterday by the Benue state APC National Assembly Caucus led by Senator Titus Zam called for a reconciliatory meeting at the Presidential Lounge of the Makurdi Airport on arrival.
Present at the meeting were Chief Simeon Sango, members of the Benue APC National Assembly Caucus, Vice President Shettima and Governor Hyacinth Alia.
Alia however invited Senator Barnabas Gemade and Senator Joseph Akaagerger to attend the meeting but on sighting the duo, Senator Titus Zam immediately told the Vice President that the meeting wouldn’t not be held with their presence.
According to a visibly angry Zam, the duo of Gemade and Akaagerger weren’t part of the crisis between the governor and the APC stakeholders. He then added that their presence would not be allowed at the meeting.
In his reaction, Governor Alia told the Vice President that he personally invited both men since they are also stakeholders in the state.
But to cool the already risen temper, Vice President Shettima suspended the meeting and ruled that another reconciliatory meeting would be held in Abuja. He however directed Governor Alia to come to Abuja for a fresh meeting with the aggreived party stakeholders.
In a new development, some chieftains of the All Progressive Congress, APC in Vandeikya local government who are loyalists of Governor Alia have been suspended from the party indefinitely.
The affected members who cut across three council wards of Mbadede, Mbayongo and Tsambe in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State are Hon. Dennis Akura, Hon. Mrs. Dorothy Mato, Julius Aondohemba Jev, Yongohime Yua, Emmanuel Tumba, Tyogbeagh David, Yar Ternenge, Tyogbande Simon, Igyo Yawe, Denen Iyol, Abubakar Aseer Ihyongo amongst others.
They were suspended by the Executive Committee of the party loyal to Senator George Akume for impersonation and anti-party activities.
Their suspension followed detailed report by the Vandeikya APC fact-finding and disciplinary committee which found them guilty of anti-party activities, operation of parallel party organs, engaging in dishonest practices and impersonation of party officials.
The fact-finding and disciplinary committee specifically found Hon. Dennis Akura and Julius Aondohemba Jev guilty of forming pressure groups in direct disobedience of the directives from Benue State working committee of the APC.
Their suspension has been sent to the APC Zonal Chairman for Zone A Hon. Vincent Uji, from there it will move to the state working committee in line with the guidelines and operations of the party.
Recall that the chairman of the Vandeikya APC, Simeon Yongo was one of the party’s local government chairmen that wrote a petition against Governor Alia for constituting local government caretaker committees towards the end of last year.
Immediately after the petition, Ter Kunav reportedly collected a sum of N3m to excommunicate Yongo with a pronunciation that he no longer belonged to Kunav.