Rita Odafe
A conflict among the leadership of the Benue State APC escalated as the dissolved state executive, led by Hon. Augustine Agada, sued the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, for allegedly defying a court order.
The crisis unfolded when a Benue State High Court issued an order preventing the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) led by Ganduje from dissolving the state executive headed by Agada. Despite this court directive, the NWC proceeded to dissolve the state executive, prompting legal action from Agada and eight other dismissed executive members for contempt of court.
In their lawsuit, the former Benue APC executive team requested the court to enforce compliance with its initial decision that restrained the NWC from removing them until the end of their term. They also urged the court to penalize the NWC for disregarding the court order.
Agada, through his counsel M.T. Aiyebo, confirmed that the court’s order was served to the NWC at the party’s national secretariat before the executive dissolution took place. The dissolved exco accused the national leadership of the APC of flouting the court order.
Expressing his disappointment, Agada emphasized, “That I saw on several Television stations that same evening about 8pm and several other News media that the Benue state Working Committee of the Respondent on record has been dissolved by the Respondent against whom the leave of this Honourable court is been sought.”
