The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Benue State, on Tuesday, conducted its State Congresses where it affirmed and retained the Benjamin Omale-led State Executives of the party in Benue.
The APC further inaugurated and swore in the State Executive, as well as the Ward and Local Government (LG) executives that were elected about two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, has adjudged the APC Ward, Local Government (LG), and State Congresses in the state as peaceful, credible and transparent.
The governor, who was speaking shortly after the State Congress of the party in Makurdi on Tuesday, therefore congratulated the national secretariat of the APC for putting together successful congresses in the state
The State Congress was conducted by the Election Committee headed by Awalu Ishiye, as Chairman and Tijanni Abdullahi, as Secretary of the Committee, which brought about the emergence of Omale as chairman of the party in the state and Solomon Katsina, as Secretary.
In his address at the event, Governor Alia stated, “I want to tell you that I am, because you are. We thank you for your continued support of this government of yours. You make the wheels of governance turn and turn round. I want to assure you that we will never stop at anything until good governance gets back to the state, full-fledged, and 100 percent.
“I commend APC as a party for organising a peaceful ward, local government and now the State Congress. I thank you so earnestly for your civility and also your patriotism. In Benue, the Congress has been seamless, peaceful, credible and transparent.
“Let us continue to show the truth of who we are; what we do as a party to bring progress, development and to prepare the future for our great state.
“And to our new Exco, I’d like you to see this election as your call to service and to do so with great honesty. We appreciate you and thank you for accepting to serve us.”
Furthermore, Governor Alia extended his appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, for their support to the APC nationwide, particularly, the APC in Benue state.
He stated that what President Tinubu was doing to support Benue has translated to what the people of the state were seeing on the streets and in the suburbs of the state, adding that “if you are unable to move on the streets because every place is a work site, I don’t need to apologise to you because it is a good work for all of you.
“So I’d like to appreciate the President for ensuring that all the Congresses nationwide have been quite ideal and particularly here in the state. We want to pledge to the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC that Benue will continue to be a great example of patriotic partisans, and we will continue to be very transparent in all that we do.
“To you, my Benue people, I want to assure you that I will continue to stand with you; I will continue to stand for you, and all of us will represent progress for our great state.
“But as I have always said, a new Benue is possible, and the wheels of the new Benue are already turned on, no turning back.
“Let us continue to demonstrate our formidable APC strength. Remember, we cannot just be a statistic here in the North-Central, we must continue to live by the numbers”, he stated.
Governor Alia also used the opportunity to appreciate all who participated in the APC e-Registration exercise in Benue and hoped that the process would continue, alongside the NIN and Voters’ registration exercises.
In his acceptance speech, the state APC chairman, Benjamin Omale, stated that APC must be a home for all, just as the party should be built to accommodate the elderly and the youth.
He explained that one of the plans of the Exco would be to strengthen grassroots mobilisation, adding that the party would work with stakeholders in order to support the reelection of Governor Alia.
Omale emphasised that “Our mission is clear. It is to consolidate our electoral strength, deliver good governance and ensure that the dividends of democracy reach every nook and cranny of Benue state.
“I call on all members to put aside their differences and in their place, unity. This is the time to close ranks, to forgive, to build and work together for the greater good of our people.”
He further stated that the party would “Work in synergy with His Excellency to ensure the success of his administration; establish effective communication through party channels, prioritise training and training capacity for party officials.
“I want to thank God Almighty for this vision; I thank the Governor for this great opportunity. I thank the leadership of this great party. Together, we will build a strong APC and support the reelection of the governor come 2027 and move Benue state forward, he assured.
Earlier, a member representing Katsina-Ala/Logo/Ukum Federal Constituency, Solomon Wombo, appreciated APC and the governor for making the Ward, LG and State congresses in the state peaceful.
Wombo, who is also the Chairman of the APC State Congress, commended others, including officials from the national secretariat of the party, for their contributions towards the success recorded.