The candidature of the suspended catholic priest, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alias as the All Progressive Congress candidate in Benue State has continued to be riddled in controversies.
This is coming on the trending report of Benue State Governorship Appeal Panel of APC recommendation to the National Working Committee on social media in the state.
The purported report claimed that the panel had cancelled the givernorship primary that produced the priest as APC guber candidate and requested for another primary.
It will be recalled that some defeated aspirants in the last givernorship primary, among them, one time national chairman of PDP, Barnabas Gemade, former Attorney General of Federation, Mike Aondoakaa, Professor Terhemba Shija and Matthias Byuan had made their submission to the givernorship panel calling for conduct of another primary, this time, indirect primary for the nomination of the party guber candidate.
According to eleven page report dated May 31, 2022 and circulating on social media, chairman of the appeal panel, Princess Uzoamaka Onyeama and Secretary, Gyang submitted to the APC National Chairman, Abdulahi Adamu pointed out that from the various petitions filed by the guber aspirants, there were glaring evidence that the primaries did not take place in Benue.
The panel in the report recommended outright cancellation of the the purported primaries in its entirety.
Parts of it read, “It is the submission of the Appeal Committee members that from the foregoing, the past event of Zamfara State and the more latest and potent danger of Anambra State; that no governorship primary election held in Benue State and we recommend as follows.
“That the NWC cancel in its entirety the gubernatorial primary election in Benue State and conduct a fresh election as INEC has extended its time limit to 9th of June, 2022.
“To avoid putting the party in public ridicule and odium as in Anambra State. That the party should avoid uncalled for litigations,” part of the report read.
“The few result sheets the aspirants presented to us had more curiously no agent of the guber aspirants or agent of the declared candidate to prove the results sheets produced and declared genuine.”
It further argued that, “How can any election result of the magnitude of total votes cast of 815, 452 not have at least one invalid vote?
“We the appeal panel unanimously agreed that it is not a true reflection of a credible election result, it is too flawless in figure a clear proof of the assertions of the aspirants/stakeholders submission that it was written in somebody’s house, the state party secretariat, in hidden places,” parts of the report read.
But in the statement issued on Sunday by the party publicity secretary, Daniel Ihomun, he described the report in circulation on social media as ‘fake, malicious and concorted’.
“That the purported report is fake and have no substance, that an appeal panel by a political party lacks the powers to cancel any primary election.
“That the election that produced the Candidature of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia is valid and reflects the wishes of majority of APC members across Benue State.
“That Rev. Fr. Alia remains the flag bearer of our party in Benue State and poised to take victory from the weaken and perforated Umbrella Party.
“That our teeming members across the state should disregard the information and continue to support and have faith in the APC,” the statement read in parts.
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