Ede Ogaba Ede
Makurdi
Candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have won the 23 chairmanships and all the 267 Councillorship positions in the Benue State local government elections held on Saturday, 5th October 2024.
Making the declaration today at a World Press Conference at the headquarters of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC), Makurdi, the Chairman, Barrister Terlumun Tombowua, said the exercise was peaceful, transparent, free, and fair and one of the most credible, free, and fair elections in the history of Benue State.
The Chairman announced that the Commission would issue Certificates of Return to the winners of the chairmanship elections at 2 pm today.
A jubilant state APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Dr. Benjamin Omale, who expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the election and commended the electoral body for conducting an acceptable election, thanked Governor Hyacinth Alia for providing the necessary support to the party to win the elections.
The chairman of the Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC), Comrade Otene Idoko, also congratulated BSIEC for the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections and the APC for the overwhelming victory.
However, the Senate Minority Leader and Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Comrade Abba Moro, has rejected its outcome, describing it as a sham and an insult to democracy.
In a statement by his media Adviser, Emmanuel Eche’Ofun John,
the Senate Minority Leader says
“reports from polling units across his senatorial district indicate that election did not hold as election materials and officials of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) were not seen anywhere except in the premises of APC leaders where ballots were thumb-printed for their candidates”.
“The senator expresses disappointment in the governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, for not standing by the truth and due process as promised during his electioneering campaign. He says he expected the governor, as a priest, to push for a paradigm shift by doing what’s right, and not referencing and copying what was wrongly done in the past”.
He calls on members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to remain calm as everything legally possible will be done to challenge the charade in a court of competent jurisdiction and ensure that a free, fair, and credible election that will allow the electorate to choose their leaders at the local government level is conducted.