From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Benue State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Austin Agada, has asserted that “only God can change [the] name” of Fr Hyacinth Alia as the party’s candidate for governor in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Agada, who stated this in a chat with reporters in Makurdi, the state capital, on Monday evening, insisted that Fr. Alia is still the Governorship Candidate of the party, for the 2023 General Elections, and no one else.
“And I want to declare to reaffirm to the hearing of everybody, the press, and the Benue people that Rev Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia remains the Candidate of APC in Benue State.
“Only God can change his name as the Candidate of our great party, and we believe that God has spoken through the people, and through the party that the Candidature of Fr Alia is not just the voice of the people of our party, but the voice of the entire Benue populace.”
“For us as a political party, we had given Benue people the assurance that we will do nothing but what the people want. We have done primaries, and the person that emerged is Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia.
“The people out there, who are not politicians, have shouted it loud and clear that the man they want for this job now, is no any other person but Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia. It is our belief that we come together as a political party not to disappoint the people of Benue State,” Agada stressed.
Agada further posited that Fr. Alia is a bonafide member of the APC from Mbadede council ward of Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, stressing that it is only he and no one else that can attest to the true records of the party as its state chairman.
The Benue APC boss explained that all the membership Registration Registers across the 23 local government areas in the State, were accordingly submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“As a party that is conscious of not deviating from the status quo of the laydown Electoral Laws, and procedures (As Amended), I say this with depth for confirmation that, the 23 membership registration registers of our great party, were submitted to INEC.”
“Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia is a bonafide member of our political party from Mbadede council ward of Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State. And as to whether we submitted our Membership Registration Registers to INEC or not, we absolutely did as a political party that is conscious of the laydown Electoral Laws and procedures, and as a serious political party.
“I wish to say we did examine all the membership status on 13th April 2022, far more than a month before the primaries as expected by the Electoral Laws. We also took further steps as a party to notify INEC for the Direct Primary Election on the 6th of April, 2022.”
“As to who becomes the running mate of His Excellency, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, the party is discussing, and the Benue stakeholders are also discussing. This, we are doing, as a democratic political party,” Agada stated.