From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Benue state Congress of the All Progressives Congress APC, ended in the early hours of Sunday with the emergence of Comrade Austin Agada as the State Chairman.
It would be recalled that the state Congress commenced on Saturday morning with the accreditation of delegates from the three Senatorial Districts at three different locations in Makurdi, the state capital.
But as at 6pm on Saturday, accredited delegates started gathering at the Aper Aku Stadium venue of the state Congress which started at about 8pm and ended around 5am on Sunday.
Agada polled 1,385 votes out of a total of the vote cast by 1,500 delegates while his co-contestant, Barr Omale Omale who boycotted the election was said to have polled 27 votes.
Declaring the results, Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Mr Abubakar Mohammed disclosed that out of the 36 positions that were listed for contest, only the position of the chairman had two contestants while the rest were unopposed.
The positions, according to Mohammed include that of Deputy Chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Zonal Vice Chairman Zone A, Zonal Vice Chairman Zone B and Zonal Vice Chairman Zone C.
He listed others to included the State Legal Adviser, Assistant Legal Adviser, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Assistant Financial Secretary and State Organising Secretary.
Also, Assistant Organising Secretary, Publicity Secretary, Assistant Publicity Secretary, Welfare Secretary and Assistant Welfare Secretary.
The State Auditor, Assistant Auditor, Women Leader, Assistant Women Leader, Youth Leader, Assistant Youth Leader, Senatorial Youth Leader for Zones A, B and C, Senatorial Women Leader for Zones A, B and C, Ex-Officio I, II III and IV and Leader of people with Disabilities were also listed.
Speaking after the election, Mohammed stated that the election was hitch free and credible while also expressing the assurance that the step the party had taken would enable her to win the governorship election and other positions in the state come 2023.
He commended the leaders of the party in the state for the maturity they exhibited in handling the election process.
On his part, Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs and leader of the party in the state, Sen. George Akume said that the party would legitimately take over the governership seat from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023.
Meanwhile, some Leaders of the All Progressives Congress APC from Benue South Senatorial District popularly known as Zone ‘C’ have rejected what they described as unfair and unjust accreditation of delegates being conducted by the state congress Committee.
The leaders, including former Senate President, Ameh Ebute and former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh made this known in a statement on behalf of the entire party stakeholders from the zone on Saturday.
The agrreived leaders in a petition to the Hon. Abubakar Mohammed Luggawero-led Committee, insisted that list of delegates that was generated in Benue South and given to the Committee, is not genuine, hence unacceptable to them.
While stressing that the delegates’ list to be used for the election has to be that which was supplied from the National Secretariat of the party. The leaders called on the Chairman of the Congress Committee to provide and use the same list for the assignment.
‘It is noteworthy that from the onset, the party had adopted consensus, as its approach to the state congresses. We, the stakeholders from Benue Zone ‘C’, to which the Chairmanship position was earlier zoned, have broadly consulted, harmonized and declared our consensus candidate as Barrister Omale Omale.
‘Therefore, if the congress committee would not accept our decision of consensus candidate, but insists on conducting an election, then it must be prepared to conduct a free, fair and credible poll, starting from the accreditation of delegates. No fake delegates must be allowed to vote at the congress,’ the statement read in part.