The crisis rocking the Benue state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a new twist. The party’s dissolved state executive members, led by Hon. Austin Agada, have dragged the party’s National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to court for contempt of court.
LEADERSHIP Reports that the Ganduje-led National Working Committee of APC appointed and inaugurated a seven-man Caretaker Committee for the Benue State chapter of the party on Wednesday.
The caretaker committee, which is said to be a unity, has the Hon. Benjamin Omale as chairman, Professor Bem Angwe as Secretary, and the Hons. James Ornguga, Terhemen Ngbea, Helen Agaigbe, Ali Francis Adah, and Richard Mzungweve as members.
This was even as a Benue State High Court had on the same day ordered APC not to remove the chairman of the state chapter, Hon. Agada and his EXCO.
Consequently, Agada and eight others approached a Benue State High Court on Thursday and slammed contempt charges against the Ganduje-led NWC of the APC.
In a motion on notice no: MHC/1585/M/2024, the Agada-led Benue exco prayed the court to compel Ganduje and the NWC to adhere to the decision not to remove them from office until their four-year tenure expires.
The dissolved Benue exco also prayed the court to issue a punitive measure against the NWC for disobeying the court’s earlier decision.
Agada, in an affidavit deposed to by his counsel, M.T. Aiyebo, insisted that the Ganduje-led NWC duly served the court order on Wednesday at about 4 p.m.
He added that the service of the order restraining the APC under Ganduje was also served at the office of the National Legal Adviser at 4.02 pm on Wednesday at the party’s national secretariat.
Agada, in the affidavit, expressed surprise that on Wednesday, August 21st, 2024, at 6 p.m., Ganduje-led NWC held a meeting at which he dissolved his executive committee and appointed a caretaker committee against the earlier court order.
“That I saw on several Television stations that same evening about 8 pm 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 sought,” he said.
The court said: “This Honourable Court made an order in this case on record on the 21st day of August 2024 against the Respondent. The Respondent on record is a legal personality who operates and carries out its activities through the Respondent against whom the Applicants are seeking the leave of this Honourable Court to enforce the order of this Court.
“The Respondent against the Applicants is seeking the leave of this Honourable court to enforce the order against, is the National Chairman of the Respondent on record, and is the head of the National Working Committee of the Respondent on record.
“The order of this Honourable Court dated the 21st of August 2024 was duly served on the Respondents against whom the leave Is being sought on the same 21st day of August 2024.
“The Respondent on record disobeyed the order of this Honourable Court. And for such further orders as this Honourable court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.”
