A major crisis is currently rocking the Benue State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the National Assembly caucus of the Party, comprising lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives, on Thursday urged President Bola Tinubu and the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, to save the party’s future chances in the state by promptly calling Governor Hyacinth Alia to order over his alleged “One man show” style of leadership in administering the State.
Leader of the Benue NASS caucus, Sen Titus Zan, at a State of the Nation Address held in Abuja, accused the governor of fast losing grip and popularity among the people who voted him to power and is currently grandstanding with what he called “Rent-a-Crowd” tactics to portray a popularity that is not there.
The caucus urged the party leadership at all levels to intervene in the ways the affairs of the state are being run as a one-man show by the governor who it claimed refused to consult or carry other stakeholders along, thereby generating discontent among the generality of Benue indigenes that believed so much in the APC administration in the State.
It alleged that six months into his administration, Gov Alia had thrown the practice of democratic consultations to the wind, instead encouraging what it termed totalitarianism, nepotism in appointments into his administration and engaging in frivolous expenditure not expected of a man of the cloth that he is.
The Caucus lamented that the dictatorial and egocentric tendencies of Gov Alia was already making the APC fast lose polarity in the State.
The Caucus recalled the Governor’s ignorable role in unilaterally appointing the Speaker of the State House of Assembly by jettisoning the agreement reached by stakeholders in the State on the matter.
Also, the Caucus noted that the governor cornered political appointments in the State to his immediate constituency and local government area to the exclusion of others and spending billions of naira on providing vehicles for himself and his cronies while no known development activities are visible throughout the length and breadth of the State.
The caucus said all entreaties to get the Governor to come to the reality of what is needed in governance fell on his deaf ears, as he refuses to call a stakeholders’ meeting or answer calls from federal lawmakers, as Representatives of the various constituencies, not to talk of listening to the people.
The caucus then warned of the dangers inherent in allowing things to continue in this wise in Benue State, adding that it might jeopardise the party’s chances among a disenchanted electorate.
Those at the briefing include Sen. Titus Zam, Benue North-West/leader; Sen. Emmanuel Udende, Benue North-East; Hon. Dickson Tarkighir, Makurdi/Guma Federal; Hon. Philip Agbese, Ado/Ogbadibo, Okpoku; Hon. Terseer Ugbor, Kwande/Ushongo; Hon. Austin Achado, Gwer-East/Gwer-West; Hon. Sekav Iyortyom, Buruku and Hon. Sesoo Ikpagher, Konshisha/ Vandeikya.
