The Nationwide Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed and inaugurated a seven-man Caretaker Committee for the get together’s Benue State chapter.
The caretaker committee, which is alleged to be a unity, has the Hon. Benjamin Omale as chairman, Professor Bem Angwe as Secretary, and the Hons. James Ornguga, Terhemen Ngbea, Helen Agaigbe, Ali Francis Adah, and Richard Mzungweve as members.
Inaugurating the committee through the NWC assembly on the get together’s nationwide secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, the APC nationwide chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, charged the panel with six months tenure to work on the unity and reconciliation within the get together.
Ganduje, whereas lamenting the issue in Benue and a few state chapters of the get together, mentioned: “The issue we’re having within the state is factions, counter-factions; litigations, counter-litigations. The Nationwide Working Committee won’t enable that to proceed. The get together is an establishment; you have to be united.
“So to resolve the issue, we adopted our Structure, and subsequently, the Nationwide Working Committee has at the moment dissolved the Government Committee, and on the similar time, the Nationwide Working Committee has authorized the structure of a seven-man Caretaker Committee to run the affairs of the get together for the following six months.
“Additionally, since you’re going for native authorities election, and the get together is the one organ that may certify the candidature of any contestant, subsequently you’re saddled with the accountability of conducting primaries for many who intend to turn out to be chairmen and councillors of their native authorities areas. We urge you to unite and proceed dialogue with main stakeholders in order that we will deliver all of you collectively so you possibly can work collectively.”
In his acceptance speech on behalf of the committee, the chairman, Omale, he pledged to unite the get together within the state as mandated by the NWC to advance the APC in Benue.
In the meantime, a Benue State Excessive Court docket had ordered APC to not take away Hon. Austin Agada, the chairman of the state chapter.
A duplicate of the order, through an ex parte order granted by Justice Theresa Igoche in movement no MH /1585m/2024, was made out there to journalists on the get together’s nationwide secretariat in Abuja earlier on Wednesday.
The courtroom primarily directed the Ganduje-led NWC to take away the Agada State Working Committee as soon as its four-year tenure expires.
The Decide, whereas granting the ex parte utility by Agada and eight others, restrained APC, both by itself, its privies, assigns, workers, officers, servants, brokers, representatives, or whomsoever, howsoever described, from eradicating, altering, changing or howsoever terminating his tenure and different members of the Benue State Working Committee of the Respondent till the expiration of their four-year time period in workplace pending the willpower of the movement on Discover.
“I’ve regarded on the processes filed together with the appliance, notably Exhibit MT “1” connected to the affidavit in assist, and I’m glad that the appliance has benefit,” the decide declared whereas granting the prayers of Agada. Within the circumstances, I now grant the appliance as prayed.”
The Decide thereby ordered that the order be served on the APC instantly, together with the movement on Discover fastened for listening to on the twenty eighth of this month.
Talking with journalists after submitting the ex parte order earlier than the inauguration, Agada insisted that his EXCO was elected for 4 years and can’t be eliminated earlier than the expiration of its tenure, extra so that there’s a courtroom injunction to that impact.
“I’m right here to submit a courtroom order by Hon. Justice Theresa Igoche restraining the Nationwide Working Committee (NWC) restraining them or their brokers or anyone to terminate the tenure of the All Progressives Congress in Benue State. We have been elected for 4 years, and we’re not pre-empting them however, after all, in a minimal quantity of hearsay as a result of typically there have been some actions by the Governor and his brokers to dissolve the State Working Committee, which I feel will not be truthful by all requirements.
“Recall that the disaster as to my purported removing began way back to February, which instantly the NWC sat and put aside that purported removing or suspension and in addition gave the caption that Austine Agada stays the bonafide chairman of APC on January 31, 2024.
“After that, they bought a courtroom injunction restraining me even when NWC squashed with out utilizing the get together’s inside mechanism. The courtroom, in its knowledge, led by the Chief Justice of Benue State, put aside that suspension. It’s nonetheless legitimate in courts.
“They have been offended and approached the Enchantment Court docket, so the case continues to be in Enchantment Court docket. I used to be stunned when the State Working Committee heard Benue State focus on the dissolution. We are saying no; the case is within the courtroom.
“That is the primary time I’m speaking to the press, or else I’ve refused to deal with the press on this challenge. I don’t know what has turn out to be for a those who sacrificed loads to usher in the governor of Benue at the moment for him to be maltreating the get together,” he mentioned.
