Senator Ameh Ebute, a former President of the Nigerian Senate and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the removal of Justice Maurice Ikpambese as the Chief Judge of Benue State.
According to Ebute, the Benue State House of Assembly’s resolution to remove Ikpambese is valid, and as a result, Ikpambese no longer has the authority to make decisions, including relocating the Local Government Election Petition Tribunals and Appeal Panel from Makurdi to Abuja.
Ebute, who is also a practicing lawyer, emphasized that the relocation of the Tribunals is unprecedented and violates legal procedures. He argued that local government matters are exclusively state affairs, and therefore, Ikpambese had no authority to transfer the sittings outside Benue State, especially given his removal from office.
The senator also addressed the leadership crisis within the Benue State chapter of the APC, stating that the party’s National Secretariat has constituted a seven-man Caretaker Committee led by Chief Benjamin Omale. However, the faction led by former Chairman Austin Agada has refused to recognize the party’s new leadership.
Ebute criticized Agada and his supporters for challenging the Benue State Governor’s leadership instead of working with him for the progress of the state. He emphasized that the governor is the leader of the party in the state, and the majority of the elders and stakeholders of the party in the state will not accept any other person as the leader of the APC in Benue State.
