Benue ADC governorship primary in crisis as Joseph Waya camp rejects results

…Demands Fresh Exercise

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

MAKURDI — The governorship primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Benue State has entered a dispute after the Joseph Waya Campaign Organisation rejected the result, citing widespread irregularities and demanding the primary be cancelled.

The campaign group called for a new primary conducted under a “transparent and credible process,” arguing that the exercise that produced the reported winner was compromised.

In a statement released over the weekend, the organisation urged supporters and party members to remain calm while awaiting intervention from the party’s national leadership.

It said it had already filed formal petitions with the ADC’s national leadership, seeking 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 group 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 creation of a new Governorship Electoral Committee composed of individuals who are neither indigenes nor residents of Benue State, 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 Hembe with 46,526 votes as the winner, Peter Adejoh with 31,990 votes, and Joseph Waya in third place with 26,919 votes.

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