Nigerian Concord Newspaper
Benue APC Youth Vanguard, a youth wing of the Benue state chapter of All Progressive Congress has faulted the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Dr. Pius Akutah over a recent newspaper interview where he accused the Governor of the State, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia of creating a faction in the party.
Akutah in the interview few days ago said that no one (referring to Governor Alia) cannot create a faction in a party which he said the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume had built over the years.
Recall that there exists a serious leadership crisis between the governor and Senator George Akume over who controls the APC in Benue State. This had led to the emergence of two factions of the party in the past. The governor’s faction was led by Benjamin Omakolo while the SGF’s faction was led by Austin Agada. Both factions had maintained two parallel Secretariats in Makurdi.
Finding a way to resolve the crisis between Alia and Akume, the National Working Committee of the party led by the national chairman, Alhaji Umar Ganduje dissolved both Agada and Omakolo-led factions, and constituted a Caretaker Committee led by Benjamin Omale.
The decision of the Umar Ganduje-led National Working Committee is an indication that the national Secretariat of the All Progressive Congress had ceded the leadership of the party in Benue state to Governor Hyacinth Alia as a result of his position as the highest office holder at the state level.
This development didn’t go down well with members of Senator George Akume political family led by the senator representing Benue Northwest, Dr. Titus Zam who, in the past had addressed several press conferences where he accused Governor Alia of fueling crisis in the party.
Akutah, another stakeholder of Senator George Akume political family on his own has been accusing the governor of creating faction in the party which he claimed the SGF had suffered to build over the years.
In the said interview, Akutah described Alia as someone who wasn’t appreciative of the fact that he was made governor by Senator George Akume on a platter of gold.
But reacting in a press statement today, the Benue APC Youth Vanguard through its chairman, Mr. Isaac Ikyange condemned Akutah’s statement in totality, saying that he was being malicious with his statement against the Governor.
The Benue APC Youth Vanguard pressed further that by the party’s constitution, Governor Alia is the leader of the party in Benue state, adding that it’s time for Senator George Akume to return back to the governor’s leadership of the party.
The group said that people like Pius Akutah are the ones that have been deceiving the SGF by telling him not to recognize Alia as his leader despite that the National Working Committee of the party had pronounced him (Alia) as the leader of APC in Benue.
The group pleaded with the National Working Committee of the APC led by Umar Ganduje to call Akutah and all other members of the SGF’s camp to order so that there would be relative peace in the party at the state level.
The group made it known also that the crisis which Senator George Akume and his camp members are creating in Benue state APC is enough to cost President Bola Tinubu his winning chance in the state during the next general election if care isn’t taken.
According to the group, the members of Senator George Akume political family had done several things to put the state on fire but didn’t succeed because the governor is holding the affairs of the state firmly. They however warned that Akutah should stop his hate speech against the Governor.
The Benue APC Youth Vanguard however urged Akutah to face the scandal he has brought upon himself with his sack of thirteen legitimate workers of the Shippers Council.
They said the sacked workers were legitimately employed into the federal government agency by Emmanuel Jime while he was holding sway as the Executive Secretary and CEO. They wondered why they had to be wickedly sacked by their own kinsman just because of local politics in the state chapter of All Progressive Congress.