2027: Asking Idoma to join ADC breaches my rights as member — Francis Ottah Agbo tells BRM

A former member of the House of Representatives and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Francis Ottah Agbo, has faulted the recent declaration by former Chief of Defence Intelligence and leader of the Benue Rebirth Movement (BRM), AVM Monday Morgan (rtd), endorsing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the preferred political platform for Idoma and Igede people ahead of the 2027 elections.

Agbo described the pronouncement as a violation of the foundational principles of BRM, an assault on his rights and those of other APC members in Benue South, and a breach of the organisation’s long-held claim of political neutrality.

In a statement made available to journalists, Agbo said he is a financial and active member of BRM from inception, stressing that his commitment to the movement was rooted in his belief that Zone C needed a strong, non-partisan socio-cultural organisation to protect and project the interests of the Idoma people as a minority group.

He recalled that at a time many politicians distanced themselves from BRM, he openly identified with the organisation and hosted a BRM delegation to the National Assembly, describing himself as the only legislator who formally received the group. He also disclosed that he fulfilled his pledge to rent and furnish a BRM office in Otukpo, the headquarters of Benue South Senatorial District, an office later commissioned by AVM Morgan himself.

According to Agbo, BRM was conceived to serve as an umbrella socio-cultural body, not a political platform aligned with any party.

“One of the privileges I enjoy as a BRM member is the protection of my political party through neutrality. The ADC is in opposition to my party, APC, yet the BRM leader has officially promoted it using his office,” he said.

Agbo argued that Morgan’s endorsement of ADC undermines the corporate plurality of interests within Idoma land, noting that many indigenes of Benue South belong to different political parties.

He likened the ideal role of BRM to that of Fulani socio-cultural organisations, which, he said, protect collective ethnic interests across party lines without endorsing any specific political party.

“No leader of a Fulani socio-cultural organisation would openly adopt a political party. I thought BRM would follow that template. I was wrong,” Agbo stated.

The former lawmaker insisted that the BRM leader’s comments amount to a direct violation of the group’s grund norm, which, according to him, forbids involvement in partisan politics. He said the remarks have effectively handed APC members in Zone C an “irreversible red card.”

Agbo also rejected claims that Morgan spoke in a personal capacity, maintaining that the retired air vice marshal was invited and introduced at the event as leader of BRM, not as a private individual.

He called on key BRM stakeholders, including Gabriel Olofu and Dr Kelvin Odatse, whom he said persuaded him to join and invest resources in the movement, to take decisive steps to restore the organisation’s credibility.

Agbo further questioned the political logic behind adopting ADC, describing it as an opposition party with no clear commitment to ceding power to Idoma people.

“What is special about ADC? Have Tiv leaders in the party agreed to zone the 2027 governorship ticket to Idoma? I fear not,” he said.

He reiterated that the core challenge facing Idoma people is not party affiliation but their minority status in Benue State, recalling repeated warnings by former Senate President, David Mark, that Idoma people cannot afford prolonged opposition politics.

Agbo urged BRM to return to its original mission of holding governments accountable across party lines rather than aligning with any political party, warning that continued partisanship could destroy the movement.