From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
The All Progressives Congress, (APC) Benue State has alleged that it is facing humiliating experience and neglect in the hands of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia’s administration the party faithful laboured hard to bring into power.
APC Zonal Party leaders led by Bishop Pinot Ogbaji as well as Vincent Uji for zonal A and James Tor, Zonal spoke while briefing newsmen at the party Secretariat, on Thursday.
Pinot who is also the State Vice Chairman maintained that the crisis rocking the party in the State is not between the Governor and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF Sen. George Akume but between the Governor and the party leadership.
He recalled that the shaky relationship between the Governor and-his party, the APC started in June this year, during the inauguration of the State Assembly, where the governor had preferred for a candidate for the position of Speaker, but could not confer with the leadership of the party, rather he allowed the party to painstakingly sit, zone the position and anoint a candidate that was not their choice.
According to him: “the end result was an embarrassing situation where stalwarts of the party were enmeshed in a shameful altercation that clearly lowered them and the party in the chamber of the Benue State House of Assembly.
“Away from the speakership tussle, the party again nominated and spread other principal officers of the Assembly, namely; Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief but shockingly, the Speaker happily accepted all nominations from the Peoples Democratic (Party) as duly endorsed by the PDP State Chairman and Secretary, however, he jettisoned the list submitted by APC and rather announced the list that was allegedly submitted by the governor, through his Chief of Staff Paul Biam.
“It is humiliating .experience for the party, having to face that level of neglect in the hands of an administration we all laboured hard to plant, nevertheless, we sustained our faith in the governor and his government. Even when we felt so bitter and visited the Leader of the party, Sen. Dr George Akume, he simply counselled us to pray for Gov. Alia and give him EVERY SUPPORT he needs to succeed as governor.
“During the first stakeholders meeting that we held with the governor in Government House, our State Chairman, Comrade Austin Agada practically went on his knees, took all the blames apologizing to the governor and all party faithful, asking them to put behind them, the State Assembly disagreement and come together to protect the soul of the party.
“Gov. Alia also eulogized Sen. George Akume during the meeting, with a promise to always work together so that Benue and the party would harness democratic gains.”
He continues: “The governor also pledged that he would from that point, involve the party deeply in taking sensitive decisions, particularly the forthcoming nomination of commissioners and local government caretaker committees, another promise that excited all party men and women with overwhelming applause.
“In picking his commissioners, His Excellency exercised his sole discretion without the usual tradition of directing local governments to make nominations taking cognizance of zonings and necessary political permutations, he rather made his independent choices as he found soothing but the party did not oppose him; we rather gave our full support to his action since that was his own State Executive and Security Council and he needed people he could trust.
“When it was time for the nomination of caretaker committees to administer the local government councils, Gov. Alia threw it back to party members during the second stakeholders meeting by demanding an immediate nomination of three candidates each for the positions of Council Caretaker Chairman, Deputy and Secretary as well as Supervisory Councillors across the 23 local governments, demanding for 2 slots of supervisory councillors from each of the local governments.
“It was the first time a Governor would demand such from the caretaker council formation as against the usual one slot per local government.
“The party jubilantly agreed and obeyed the directive by holding meetings, and painstakingly nominating and submitting their various lists with a relieving sense of belonging.
“But quite shockingly, when the nominations were finally announced, the party was bewildered that 80% of the names were outside the actual nominees that were sent to the governor on his directive.
“It can safely be said that members of opposition parties and alien faces made the lists in a higher proportion than members of APC, the governor’s party.
“We are not pushing to usurp or share powers with His Excellency but if the governor was interested in forming a unity government, he would have simply called a general meeting of all Benue people and requested nominations from them rather than allowing APC members sweat to microzone the positions, shop for names and raise the hopes of candidates who were eventually ignored, dropped and their opponents, most of whom are members of rival political parties appointed.
“In all this misgiving and dissatisfaction, the announcement of caretaker committees marked the pinnacle of a noticeably sour relationship between Gov. Hyacinth Alia and the APC in Benue State and this snowballing anger by all standards is justifiable.
“Facing series of maltreatment from our own governor has been a bitter experience that some party members could not stomach anymore; but even at that, the State Chairman and the Working Committee did everything humanly possible to stop protests and other uprisings that may have embarrassed both the government and the party”.
