Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has given an insight into why he halted the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary for Guma 1 State Constituency, stating it was due to concerns about safety and irregularities.
The Guma 1 State Constituency’s vacancy arose when Dr. Yamar Ortese resigned to take on a commissioner role. The election to fill this spot is planned for next month.
At the Avine Agbom Hotel in Daudu, Guma Local Government Area, where the primary was held, there were issues despite security presence.
The gate was blocked, and some important individuals were prevented from entering, causing confusion.
The Governor’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Paul Biam, tried to intervene but found that the officials for the APC primary and election materials were missing.
An eyewitness, who narrated the event to The Punch said the gate leading to the venue of the election was barricaded by a detachment of security men while some delegates, including an aspirant, Maurice Orwough, the Caretaker Council Chairman, Simon Unongu, Commissioner for Health and Human Services Dr Yanmar Ortese, as well as member representing Makurdi North State Constituency, Alfred Emberga, were barred from accessing the venue of the delegate election.
According to the eyewitness, the developments drew the attention of the Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr Paul Biam who acted as the state official observer for the primary election.
“The Chief of Staff demanded that the gate be forced open only to discover that the national credentials officials of APC assigned to conduct the primary election were not found and the election materials were not available at the venue.
“The situation caused confusion and anxiety as a young man alleged to have aided the smuggling of electoral materials was arrested by security personnel for interrogation.
“At the end of the day, Peter Terwase Uche was announced to have scored 25 votes against Maurice Orwough who polled three votes,” an eyewitness who did not want his name in print said.
Following these problems, Governor Alia stopped the delegate election. He stressed the importance of peace and safety, saying, “I do not want any bloodshed as people get sensational and sentimental about politics.”
He expressed trust in the National Working Committee of the party to take appropriate actions to resolve the situation.
