Benue: Achado mocks Alia as anointed candidate loses APC primary election

Arch. Asema Achado, the representative of Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency in Benue State has criticized Governor Hyacinth Alia for prioritizing prayers over official duties.

Arch. Achado, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), mocked the Governor for his absence during the Guma 1 State Constituency primary election, where Alia’s preferred candidate suffered a significant defeat.

In a November 2023 open letter to Governor Alia, Arch. Achado had advised him to focus on official matters during office hours rather than engaging in prolonged prayers. Despite this advice, the Governor allegedly continued to dedicate extensive hours to prayer sessions, leading to criticism from party members.

The chieftain also highlighted instances where top government officials and party leaders attempted to discuss crucial state matters with Governor Alia, only to be informed that he was engaged in marathon prayers for over four hours.

Governor Alia’s alleged neglect of official duties became more pronounced during the recent Guma 1 State Constituency primary election. Arch. Achado accused the Governor of attempting to cancel the election process after it had been concluded and the Electoral Committee had left for Abuja with the results.

On his Facebook page, Arch. Achado sarcastically commented, “I love my Governor, hence my advice to him two months ago, to sleep/pray in the night and work in the day.” He questioned the Governor’s decision to suspend a process that had already been completed and over which he had no control.

The Guma 1 State Constituency seat became vacant after the resignation of Dr. Yamar Ortese, who was appointed a commissioner. The election to fill the position is scheduled for next month.

In the recently conducted primary election, Hon. Uche Peter Terwase emerged victorious with 25 votes, defeating Governor Alia’s favored candidate, Hon. Maurice Orwough, who garnered only three votes. Despite the declared victory by the Prof. Kabiru Ibrahim-led 2024 APC Bye-election primaries committee, Governor Alia controversially declared the cancellation of the election, citing security breaches and irregularities.

The state working Committee of the APC congratulated Hon. Terwase on his “well-deserved victory,” expressing gratitude to APC members in Guma for their peaceful conduct during the primary election.