A High Court in Makurdi has annulled the seven-member caretaker committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, reinstating the leadership of Austine Agada as the legitimate chairman of the party.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday by Justice T.A. Kume, in response to a lawsuit filed by Agada, who challenged the dissolution of the APC State Working Committee (SWC) by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
The court declared the dissolution unconstitutional, citing breaches of the APC constitution and the denial of due process for the affected members.
Justice Kume emphasized the importance of fairness and justice, drawing on biblical references to underline the principle of allowing all parties to be heard.
As a result, the actions taken by the caretaker committee appointed to replace Agada’s SWC were ruled invalid, and Agada’s leadership was reinstated.
Benue APC has been embroiled in a leadership crisis since the 2023 elections, largely driven by a divide between supporters of Governor Hyacinth Alia and those backing Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
This tension led to the establishment of rival APC factions, one led by Agada and the other by Benjamin Omakolo, a faction aligned with Governor Alia.
In January 2024, the Alia-backed faction set up a parallel secretariat in Makurdi, while Agada’s faction continued to operate from the original APC secretariat.
To address the crisis, the APC NWC formed a caretaker committee to bridge the divide, but Agada’s faction contested the legitimacy of the committee, leading to the court case.
Tensions between the factions deepened in August 2024 when both sides clashed over the conduct of local government primary elections.
The Agada-led SWC claimed to have held its primaries for the elections, while the Omale-led caretaker committee contested the process, stating that they had conducted their own primaries and were satisfied with the screening exercises.
Following the October local government elections, the caretaker committee’s candidates won all the council seats, but the crisis remained unresolved.
The caretaker committee has since filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Makurdi against the ruling, with a motion for a stay of execution pending.
Despite the legal battle, Omale has called on APC members in Benue to remain calm and assured them that the situation would be resolved peacefully.
