The Benue state chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has condemned the suspension of three chairmen of Local Government councils.
In a statement signed by the Publicity secretary James Ornguga and made available to newsmen, described the suspension as null, void and illegal.
The statement further reads; “The All Progressives Congress in Benue State has read reports of a purported suspension of three local government council chairmen elected on its platform by the Titus Uba faction of the Benue State House of Assembly.
“Those said to have been suspended include; Uaah Vitalis – Gwer East, Akola Simon- Ogbadibo, and Akura Dennis – Vandeikya.
“This action confirms earlier alarms raised by the forum of local government council chairmen elected on APC platform of plans by the Samuel Ortom-led Benue State Government to use crooked means to remove local government chairmen who have refused to defect with the governor to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“Reasons announced for the illegal action were sweeping generalizations of misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds and none of the affected chairmen was invited and given fair hearing as the governor’s team had already pronounced sentence on them.
“We condemned this act of illegality and urge Governor Samuel Ortom to save the local government system in the state the trouble of his second term ambition that is currently being starved of support by the people of Benue State.
“Political parties attract membership through people oriented programmes and not by coercing members of other political parties using government machinery.
“By this singular act of desperation, Governor Samuel Ortom has openly displayed his lack of tolerance for due process and constitutionalism as basic ingredients in the practice of democracy world over.
“Already, a subsisting court order bars both factions of the Benue State House of Assembly from conducting the business of the Assembly.
“Processes of establishing contempt against the Uba faction that purportedly suspended three council chairmen has already being served on its leadership. It is therefore very strange that a government in this age could stand logic on its head through such careless pronouncements.
“As a responsible political party, the APC in Benue State will do everything possible within the ambit of the law to ensure that the action by the state government through a faction of the Benue State House of Assembly carries its rightful tag of a nullity and have no effect whatsoever.
“APC describes this as a huge joke and direct invitation to anarchy as the due process for such suspension was not followed in the first place and the Assembly as it stands now cannot carry out any valid function.
“We call on security agencies to hold Governor Samuel Ortom responsible should crisis spring up from this deliberate illegality by the governor to plant his stooges as caretaker Chairmen in the affected local governments, so as to swell up his delegate list for the forthcoming PDP primaries.”