….Demands Fresh Exercise
By Peter Duru, Makurdi
MAKURDI — The governorship primary election of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Benue State has been thrown into controversy as the Joseph Waya Campaign Organisation has rejected the outcome, alleging widespread irregularities and calling for its outright cancellation.
The group is demanding a fresh primary conducted under what it described as a transparent and credible process, insisting that the exercise that produced the reported winner was compromised.
In a statement issued at the weekend, the campaign organisation urged its supporters and party members to remain calm while awaiting the intervention of the party’s national leadership.
It said it had already submitted formal petitions to the national leadership of the ADC, calling for the nullification of the governorship primary election.
“We have formally filed petitions before the leadership of the African Democratic Congress seeking the outright rejection of the purported governorship primaries conducted in Benue State,” the statement read.
The organisation alleged that the exercise was marred by irregularities, describing it as fundamentally flawed and incapable of reflecting the true wishes of party members.
It therefore called for the reconstitution of a new Governorship Electoral Committee made up of individuals who are neither indigenes nor residents of Benue State, in order to ensure neutrality and credibility.
According to the group, no candidate has been officially recognised by the party pending the resolution of the dispute.
“For clarity, the position of the party remains that no governorship primaries in Benue State have been ratified and no candidate has been confirmed by the ADC until all issues arising from the exercise are fully addressed,” it added.
The organisation also urged the public to disregard anyone claiming to be the party’s governorship candidate for Benue State, stressing that only the party’s National Working Committee has the authority to make a final pronouncement.
It reaffirmed its commitment to justice, fairness and due process, insisting that the mandate of party members must be protected.
Meanwhile, the primary election results announced about a week ago by Returning Officer, Mr. Victor Tukura, showed that Hembe scored 46,526 votes to emerge winner, while Peter Adejoh polled 31,990 votes. Joseph Waya came third with 26,919 votes.
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