Former Senate President, Senator Ameh Ebute, has asked the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to invite all party elders of APC to appropriately advise it on the leadership tussle in Benue State.
Ebute, Senate president in the Third Republic, in a statement, also took a swipe at three members of the Benue State National Assembly Caucus for seeking to distract the Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr (Dr) Hycinth Alia over a tussle for party leadership in the state.
The APC in Benue State has been in crisis, following the power tussle between Governor Alia and the loyalists of secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
The former Senate president said the two senators from Zones A and B Senatorial Districts of Benue State and a Member of the House of Representatives representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency have constituted themselves into the so called National Assembly Caucus, giving the impression that the governor is rejecting the peace move by the President Bola Tinubu.
He said the two Senators and a Member of the House of Representatives had their candidatures and their election to the National Assembly by the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) when he was the leader of the party in Benue 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.
“I do not expect them to constitute themselves into a so-called National Assembly Caucus of only three (3) and distract the attention of the Benue State Chief Executive.
“In all states of the federation where a particular political party produces the governor, the governor is the leader of that party in the state.
“We, elders and party leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State have advised the governor not to allow the sharing of party leadership functions with any other government official no matter how highly placed.
“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.
“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.”
This policy poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s food security ambitions, as local farmers, facing unfair competition from low-cost producers in Asia, Europe, and America, are compelled to reduce or entirely abandon their production efforts. It jeopardizes job creation, wealth generation, and the sector’s long-term prosperity, casting a shadow over Nigeria’s sustainability and development.
“President Tinubu and his advisers would be wise to redirect their efforts towards crafting sustainable solutions to the systemic shocks afflicting the economy rather than compounding the crisis with measures destined to ignite further turmoil,” he said.