Former Senate President, Senator Ameh Ebute, has called on the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to seek the wisdom and guidance of party elders in resolving the ongoing leadership tussle in Benue State. In a strongly-worded statement, Ebute urged the APC’s national body, led by Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, to bring together senior figures within the party to find a lasting solution to the internal crisis in the state.
The former Senate President, who served during the Third Republic, also criticized three members of the Benue State National Assembly Caucus for their efforts to distract the state’s governor, Reverend Father Dr. Hyacinth Alia, through their involvement in the tussle for party leadership in Benue. According to Ebute, these National Assembly members have complicated matters by opposing Governor Alia’s leadership, particularly concerning control of the party in the state.
The APC in Benue has been embroiled in a political crisis marked by a power struggle between Governor Alia and the loyalists of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume. Ebute, siding with Governor Alia, argued that the governor should naturally be recognized as the leader of the party in the state.
He singled out two senators from Benue’s Zones A and B Senatorial Districts, along with a member of the House of Representatives from Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency, accusing them of forming a so-called “National Assembly Caucus” of just three individuals. This group, according to him, is giving the misleading impression that Governor Alia is rejecting efforts by President Bola Tinubu to resolve the crisis.
Ebute emphasized that these lawmakers owe their positions to Senator Akume, who helped secure their candidacies when he was the leader of the party in Benue. Despite their positions, he expressed disappointment at their conduct, stressing that they should focus on fulfilling their legislative responsibilities rather than contributing to the political disarray in the state.
“Having been elected to the Senate and House of Representatives respectively, I expect them to sponsor bills and carry out oversight functions that will lead to the development of their constituencies, particularly, and Nigeria generally,” Ebute stated. “I do not expect them to constitute themselves into a so-called National Assembly Caucus of only three and distract the attention of the Benue State Chief Executive.”
Ebute underscored that it is a general practice in the presidential system of government for the sitting governor to be recognized as the leader of the ruling party in their respective states. He insisted that Governor Alia, by virtue of his position, should not be required to share his leadership role with any other political figure, no matter their rank or influence.
In his statement, he reminded the party leadership that in every state where the APC has produced a governor, the governor is regarded as the leader of the party. This, he said, is in line with the established norms of the presidential system, where the president leads the party at the national level, and governors do the same at the state level.
“It is not the issue of the governor respecting peace moves by the President; it is the issue of standing by the rules of the general practice of the presidential system of government whereby the president of the country is the ultimate leader of the party in the country, while governors are the leaders of the party in their states,” he explained.
Ebute concluded his remarks by advising the APC’s national leadership to convene a meeting of the party’s elders, including himself, to offer sound counsel on the matter. “Finally, I advise the National Leadership of the APC led by Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje to invite all elders of APC, including me, to advise them appropriately.”
