Fresh crisis looms in Benue APC as SWC moves to remove Agada as chairman

Barring any last minute intervention by stakeholders of the party, the Chairman of Benue All Progressive Congress APC, Augustine Agada, will be heading home as he is currently facing threats of removal.

Sources close to the deputy Chairman, Hon. Steven Tsav, and state Secretary, Hon. Paul Biam, have disclosed that members of the State Working Committee (SWC) are allegedly warming up to remove the State Chairman after some members passed a vote of no confidence on him.

As at the time of writing this report, Agada and many of the SWC members including Hon. Biam were alleged to be no longer in talking terms.

According to our source, they are citing alleged involvement in fraudulent activities by the chairman.

The State Chairman of the party also became an open debate when a fiery human rights activist and the party’s candidate for House of Reps, Chief Philip Agbese, granted an interview to newsmen recently on his activities.

Meanwhile, about 22 members of the Benue APC SWC, are alleged to have unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on the state chairman, giving what they described as “autocratic, wicked and fraudulent tendencies” as their reasons.

Some of the SWC members are said to be in agreement with the position canvassed by Chief Agbese even as social media commentators who are members of the party have all come out openly to support him as a new voice for the restoration of the party in Benue state.

Agbese in his outing asked the State Chairman to explain his close relationship with members of the PDP who are working to unseat the APC.

Members of the party are also said to be angry that Agada has already betrayed their party even before the election.

Part of the grouse by the Benue APC SWC who spoke to Blueprint on the condition of anonymity alleged that Agada fraudulently diverted millions of dollars given to Benue national delegates during the national convention.

When newsmen contacted Chief Agbese to make further clarifications on the issue he said Agada remains his state chairman and he had only aired his views on serious national issues and hold no personal grudges against him who remains his friend.

When pressed further Agbese promised to call back as he was observing his meditation and fasting.

Meanwhile, majority of the Benue APC SWC are alleged to be demanding a thorough investigation into the issues raised by other members of the party against Agada, latest which was by Philip Agbese .

Failure by the party’s leadership to address the issues they threatened to all resign from the Benue APC SWC.

However, the Benue State APC Publicity Secretary Dan Morgan Ihomon debunked the allegations describing it as mischievous and a lie.

He said no SWC has sat, therefore nobody would have passed a vote of no confidence on the chairman without a meeting.

“Nobody has passed a vote of no confidence on the chairman, and I am not aware as a member of the SWC that anyone has also sat. We have not held a meeting for some time now so the information is a lie, a mischief and as a member of the SWC I should be privy to any meeting held anywhere.

“We are united and have a big task of rescuing Benue and that is what we are focusing on.

He further said, “my political party APC has remain united and those allegations are unfounded and not true. I would like to say that Philip Agbese was not a delegate, of course he is a member of the party and a House of Representative candidate of the party.

“It is normal in a political party to have little party family issues, but this issue have been resolved.

“Paul Biam as a member of the SWC had a cordial working relationship with the chairman and all members are solidly behind the chairman.

“The chairman as far as we know have been leading the party very well. If you look at the past primary elections of the party conducted, we used the most

However, Chairman Austin Agada in his reaction said, “this is not true and you know that I have been on ground. If the allegation is true I would not be doing certain things that I do for the party.

“Most at times I call on you to speak on issues that are being done by the Ortom administration, you know my persistent that things should be done correctly.

“I cannot be doing something on one hand and be doing on the other hand differently.

“It is not done, if I have anything to do with the other side, I should not have the justification be attacking them.

“Since I came in, I have never spared anything as far as development of the party is concerned. I don’t thinks that allegations could be anywhere correct.

“There is no issue indicating that my people want me removed. It is not true, and nobody has passed a vote of no confidence on me.”

Credit: Blueprint