Benue APC Dismisses PDP North East Caucus Communiqué, Labels Opposition Non-Directional

The Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed a recent communiqué issued by the Benue North East Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus, describing it as a political distraction aimed at masking the opposition’s internal decline.

In a statement released on Sunday by the APC’s State Organizing Secretary and Spokesman, James Ornguga, the ruling party described the PDP’s gathering in the Benue North East Senatorial District as “a little caucus meeting” of remnants unwilling to acknowledge what it called the wave of defections eroding their ranks.

The APC took particular aim at the caucus’s praise of former Governor Samuel Ortom, calling him “a textbook example of bad governance.”

The party accused Ortom’s administration of mishandling the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of 2017, claiming it lacked the necessary security support to make the policy effective.

“Governor Alia is taking a more strategic approach by working with the federal government to implement the anti-open grazing law while increasing security investments in the state,” the statement read. “The provision of patrol vehicles and an increase in local government security votes from ₦1 million to ₦10 million monthly are measures to combat the recent surge in violent attacks.”

The party further argued that the PDP lacks the moral standing to criticize Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration, accusing the opposition of leaving behind “a trail of unpaid debts.”

“Governor Alia is now steadily clearing salary and pension backlogs inherited from the previous administration, bringing relief to Benue workers and retirees,” Ornguga said.

He added that the governor remains committed to implementing full local government autonomy, noting that the Central Bank of Nigeria is already working on enabling direct fund disbursement to all local councils nationwide.

In a twist, the APC accused the PDP of allegedly aligning secretly with the APC’s 2027 presidential candidate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while urging any remaining credible PDP loyalists to consider joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which it claimed now hosts the opposition’s most trustworthy members.

The statement concluded with a stern warning that the ruling party would no longer tolerate what it described as “baseless attacks” on Governor Alia, branding the PDP as “non-directional” and out of touch with the current political realities in Benue State.