15 days to INEC deadline, Benue APC has no governorship candidate, deputy

With about 15 days to the Independent National Electoral deadline for the submission of the list of governorship and House of Assembly candidates by political parties, IDOMA VOICE can report that the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Benue State is yet to settle on who is the authentic governorship flag bearer of the party.

IDOMA VOICE recalls that the opposition party in the state had conducted a controversial direct mode primary on May 27, which allegedly threw up a suspended Catholic Priest, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, as its candidate.

Alia’s ‘emergence’, was, however, greeted with rejection by many other aspirants who said the process that produced him was illegal and did not follow due process.

At the appeal panel held at the party secretariat in Makurdi shortly after the exercise, some petitioners described the process that gave Alai victory as an aberration, saying that the primaries did not hold and called for outright cancellation.

One-time national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Barnabas Gemade, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mike Aondoakaa, and two others have petitioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the party’s governorship primary in Benue State.

The other petitioners were Mathias Byuan and Professor Terhemba Shija.

Similarly, the governorship appeal committee led by Princess Ozoamaka Oyeama had declared the election that produced Alia invalid, stating that “it’s a yahoo, yahoo arrangement.”

Oyeama questioned the process that gave Alia the victory at that primary poll, stressing: “How can any election result of the magnitude of total votes cast of 815, 452 not have at least one invalid vote? We the appeal panel members unanimously agreed that it is not the true reflection of a credible election result; it is too flawless in figure which is a clear proof of the assertions of the aspirants/stakeholders submission that it was written in somebody’s house, the state party secretariat or in hidden places.”

Despite the wide rejection of Alia, the Chairman of the APC in the state, Austin Agada, has insisted that Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia remains the party’s candidate.
He affirmed that Fr. Alia was chosen by majority of APC members in Benue State through what he described to be “the most democratic process (Direct Primaries).”
This development has torn the party apart with many planning a mass defection in the offing.

Chief Lawani, former Benue State Deputy Governor and one of the guber aspirants faulted the controversial primary.
Lawani, who expressed displeasure over the mode of the primary election, stated that he was not part of the process that gave Alia victory.
A source told IDOMA VOICE that development has hindered the party from naming its deputy governorship candidate.

“You are aware that the PDP has named its guber candidate -Titus Uba and his deputy, John Ngbede? This goes to show you that the party is serious and ready for the general election.
“We in APC have less than 15 days to name our candidate and his running mate, but at the moment, we don’t know who our candidate is.
“Today, you will hear it is Alia, tomorrow they will say it is Gemade. They are just playing with us in this APC.
“They have bastardized the party. They allowed strangers to hijack and scatter what we labourd to build for years.

“I can assure you that over 50,000 members of the APC are set to dump the party over the outcome of the exercise.
“I can assure you that if Agada and Akume eventually succeed in imposing Alia on us, we will work against the party seriously in 2023.

“People should not reap where they didn’t sow. We are waiting for them,” the source that gave his name as Okpe, told IDOMA VOICE on Friday.

Another source said the party led by George Akume in the state has concluded plans to send the name of Alia and a former minister from Benue South to INEC as governorship and deputy governorship candidates.
“This wont fly,” another source warned.