Benue APC Faction Defies Dissolution, Nominates Candidates for LG Elections
By Matthew Eloyi
The crisis within the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) escalated on Monday as the dissolved Austin Agada-led faction announced the nomination of 23 chairmanship and 276 councillorship candidates for the upcoming October 5 local government elections.
Despite the recent dissolution of their executive body by APC National Chairman Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the Agada-led group proceeded with primary elections across the state’s 23 local government areas on Saturday.
This move comes just days after the aggrieved members, ousted by Ganduje, took legal action against him for allegedly ignoring a court order that restrained the APC National Working Committee (NWC) from removing them from office. A Benue High Court had previously issued an ex-parte order preventing the removal of Agada and his executive team until the end of their four-year tenure.
The Benue APC has been embroiled in a leadership struggle, with Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, backing rival factions. While Akume supports the Agada-led committee, Governor Alia aligns with the Benjamin Omakolo-led faction.
However, the APC leadership ignored the court’s directive and dissolved the Benue executive committee on Wednesday, installing a seven-member caretaker committee to manage the party’s affairs in the state for six months—a move the Agada-led faction has refused to accept.
In a statement released in Abuja on Monday, Agada confirmed that the primary elections were conducted through consensus and affirmation.
“The process was peaceful, and I commend the stakeholders in the local governments for a successful primary election,” Agada stated.
Lazarus Asema, APC Chairman of Guma Local Government, also praised the leadership and organization of the primary exercise, noting, “I am impressed with the process and commend party faithful for conducting themselves peacefully.”
The primary election produced chairmanship candidates, including Elias Ogbu (Ado), Tarkaa Solomon (Konshisha), Chia Terna (Vandeikya), Atom Phillip (Kwande), and Oleho Augustine (Otukpo), among others.
In Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, Simon Aluor, a participant in the primaries, remarked, “The APC has shown a good example of orderliness and peace.”
The party faithful in Otukpo similarly turned out in large numbers to affirm their preferred candidate, demonstrating widespread support for the process led by the Agada faction.
