Benue ADC governorship primary election: How Peter Adejoh was betrayed

Despite persistent complaints of alleged marginalisation among the Idoma ethnic group in Benue State, residents of Benue South voted massively against an Idoma governorship aspirant, Dr. Peter Adejoh, during the just-concluded governorship primary election of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

IDOMA VOICE gathered that apart from losing Ohimini, an Idoma-speaking local government area, votes from other local government areas in Benue South were also divided, with many delegates supporting Adejoh’s main rival, Herman Hembe, who eventually emerged as the party’s governorship candidate.

Results obtained from the primary election showed that Adejoh lost in Ohimini with a margin of 470 votes.

Similarly, in Oju Local Government Area, Hembe polled 2,385 votes, while Obi Local Government Area recorded 1,163 votes against Adejoh. In Agatu, Hembe also secured 1,080 votes, bringing the total number of votes recorded against the Idoma aspirant in parts of Benue South to 5,098.

According to the official results released after the exercise, Herman Hembe scored 46,526 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Peter Adejoh, who garnered 31,990 votes, while Joseph Waya came third with 26,916 votes.

Some residents of Benue South have, however, faulted the leadership of the ADC in the zone, led by the party’s National Chairman, Senator David Mark, accusing them of not doing enough to secure the governorship ticket for Adejoh.

Recall that the wife of former Senate President David Mark had, during a meeting with Adejoh at her Abuja residence some months ago, reportedly described him as the most qualified aspirant in the race.

A political stakeholder from Otukpo, who spoke to IDOMA VOICE, wondered why Benue South could not unite behind one of its own despite years of agitation for power shift.

“We have cried for years that power should come to Benue South, but when the opportunity came, our people divided their votes. That is what is painful about this whole thing,” he said.

Another resident from Oju lamented what he described as the silence of prominent ADC leaders from Benue South during controversies that trailed the primary election.

“Many people expected the leaders to speak out or intervene when issues started coming up during the primaries, but everywhere was just silent,” he stated.

With the emergence of Hembe as ADC candidate, the 2027 governorship race in Benue State is now shaping into a three-way contest among Tiv politicians, as Governor Hyacinth Alia of the APC and Mike Kase Aondoakaa of the PDP have already secured their respective party tickets.