Benue APC Faces Crisis After Onjeh Rejects Ottah’s Endorsement as Consensus Candidate

A crisis is developing inside the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as senatorial aspirant Daniel Onyirofie Onjeh rejects claims that former lawmaker Francis Ottah Agbo has been endorsed as the party’s consensus candidate for Benue South.

According to the DAILY POST, APC senatorial primaries are being held nationwide today, with Benue South identified as a key district likely to produce a candidate for the 2027 general elections.

On Saturday night, reports circulated that Prince Moses Ternenge, an ally of Governor Hyacinth Alia, allegedly supported Ottah Agbo as the preferred aspirant for the Benue South senatorial ticket.

Ottah Agbo, a former member of the House of Representatives, joined the APC after losing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination in 2022. His switch helped Philip Agbese secure the APC nomination before Agbese later moved to the Labour Party.

In response, Onjeh released a video on his Facebook page in which he criticized what he described as interference by Prince Moses Ternenge—an influential figure from Benue North East Senatorial District (Zone A)—in the political affairs of Benue South (Zone C).

Onjeh argued that Benue South already has a sufficient pool of qualified candidates capable of charting its political direction without external influence.

“Prince Moses Ternenge, a Tiv man from Benue North East, Zone A, cannot impose a senatorial candidate on Benue South, Zone C, with its array of professors and academic doctors,” Onjeh said.

The APC figure also criticized an unnamed aspirant who has been portrayed as an “anointed candidate” within the party. He accused the aspirant of defecting from the PDP to the APC without bringing any political structure or grassroots support.

“Even more ridiculous is the claim by some aspirants that somebody is the anointed candidate. The person came solely to APC without a single follower from his former party, PDP, and hopes to reap where he did not sow,” he stated.

Onjeh further emphasized that political structures and followership built over the years should not be undermined in the contest for the Benue South senatorial ticket.

“You cannot come and rest on the followership that others have built over the years to run the senatorial race,” he added.