Senator Magnus Abe, an influential politician in the All Progressives Congress (APC), recently described Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as a significant figure in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

But he made it clear that the former governor of Rivers State was not an APC member.

During his appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television, Abe described how he persuaded Wike to collaborate with Tinubu.

The APC leader declared: “I’m comfortable working with Wike. I did everything to convince Wike as governor then, to work for Tinubu in Rivers State.

“Wike is my friend. Today, he is working in the APC government as a minister. We must work together.”

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When asked if Wike was now an APC member, Abe responded, “Wike is a minister in the APC government, not an APC member.”

Abia State Governor Alex Otti has stated that in order to increase the state’s access to high-quality healthcare delivery, his administration has partnered with the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Otti made this statement while meeting with Dr. Salma Ibrahim, the Special Advisor to the President on Health, and her delegation, who were in Abia for an advocacy visit.

He stressed the mutual push towards a similar goal despite political disagreements and the shared interests between Abia and the Federal Government, particularly in the field of health.

As said by Otti: “Given all the things you reeled out about the President’s renewed hope agenda with specific reference to health, I didn’t think I would be exaggerating if I say that even if we’re not in the same party, we are on the same pedestal. We are driving towards the same purpose.

“We already keyed in on this renewed hope agenda of the Federal government. Because listening to you, all the areas that the Federal government is interested in, are also the areas we are interested in.”

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A strong budget for the healthcare delivery system, the restoration of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital’s accreditation, the payment of health workers’ salaries, and addressing the rates of maternal and infant mortality are just a few of the accomplishments that Governor Otti cited in the health sector.

He reaffirmed the preparedness of his administration to work with the federal government to provide the public with high-quality healthcare.

Earlier in her statement, Dr. Salma Ibrahim, the Special Advisor to the President on Health, urged Abia and the Federal Government to collaborate in order to expedite the health sector transformation projects mentioned in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

She praised Otti for raising the country’s healthcare budget by 15% and urged for further efforts to lower maternal and infant mortality, promising that the federal government will assist Abia State in implementing various health initiatives.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) branch in Benue State continues to tear itself apart over an internal issue that doesn’t seem to be ending.

This comes as the factions led by Benjamin Omakolo and Austin Agada resumed their acrimonious struggle for dominance and legitimacy on Monday in Makurdi.

The verbal spat broke out when the Agada-led group, supported by Sen. Dr. George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, went to an undisclosed site in Makurdi and installed members of an Ad Hoc Zoning Committee in advance of the state’s local government election.

In a press release following the committee’s inception, the party’s public relations secretary in Benue State, Hon. Daniel Ihonmu, stated that Agada had given the committee the task of conducting a thorough investigation and ensuring that party stakeholders are involved in the Zoning process in each zone of the state.

The State Working Committee of the party has also authorized and started selling Expressions of Interest and Nomination forms, he continued. The Chairmanship and Councillorship forms cost N100,000 and N250,000, respectively, and N50,000 and N100,000, respectively.

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In addition, the notification stated that women will receive both forms at no cost to them and instructed that payments be made using Zenith Bank account number 1223095804.

However, the faction led by Hon. Benjamin Omakolo, supported by Benue State’s Executive Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, via the party’s factional Organizing Secretary, Hon. James Ornguga, issued a counter-statement a few minutes later, cautioning APC members in the state against what he referred to as “Diaspora Yahoo Arrangements.”

He told party members to ignore any communication from Daniel Ihomun regarding local government elections since he was the party’s constitutional representative and would always be the source of all election correspondence.

“Do not be a victim of their Abuja Yahoo Yahoo arrangements cooked in a foreign wine bar, away from the state to hoodwink unsuspecting party members.

“The party cannot begin sale of forms without the due approval of the State Executive Council and His Excellency, Gov. Hyacinth Alia who is the State Leader of the party.

“Therefore, all guidelines regarding the forthcoming elections would be originally unveiled at the appropriate time.

“Anyone who pays money into any account made available by the Benue APC diaspora group does so at their personal risk”, Ornguga said.

It should be noted that a few months back, Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State gave the security services the order to lock up the APC state secretariat.

On the grounds of escalating insecurity, he prohibited all party activity within the state.

However, the Governor gave the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) instructions to organize and carry out local government elections a month later.

The ongoing dispute is a struggle for dominance between Gov. Alia, Sen. Akume, and the SGF over who should lead the party and oversee its state institutions.