Storm in Benue as Lawmaker Declares: ‘APC Card First or Forget Jobs, Admissions’

A lawmaker from Nigeria’s northern Benue State proposed Thursday that only holders of All Progressives Congress membership cards qualify for public sector employment and university admissions, sparking backlash as a blatant bid to entrench party loyalty over merit.

Philip Agbese, representing Obia/Liji in the House of Representatives, tabled the motion during a plenary, arguing it would curb “ghost workers” and prioritize committed citizens in resource-scarce times. “To access any government job, you must be a card-carrying member of APC. To gain admission into any university or college of education, you must be a card-carrying member of APC,” Agbese declared, framing the scheme as a loyalty test for “true sons and daughters of Benue.”

The initiative, dubbed a “Benue First” policy, would extend to federal allocations, with Agbese insisting: “We will not allow people who do not believe in the progress of Benue to enjoy the resources of Benue.” He cited rampant joblessness and educational bottlenecks as justification, claiming non-partisans siphon opportunities meant for locals.

Critics swiftly condemned the plan as discriminatory and unconstitutional, violating Nigeria’s secular federal charter that bars partisan barriers to public goods. Civil rights group Amnesty International decried it as “a dangerous slide toward one-party authoritarianism,” while opposition People’s Democratic Party chieftains in Benue labeled Agbese a “puppet” of ruling elites.

The motion, if passed, would task the state assembly with drafting enabling legislation, though legal experts doubt its viability under the 1999 Constitution’s equality clauses. Agbese’s office offered no immediate response to the uproar.