From Gyang Bere, Jos

Former member of the House of Representatives Hon Lumumba Dah Adeh has emerged as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the by-election for Jos North/Bassa federal constituency of Plateau State, following the demised of Hon Haruna Maitala, who died in a ghastly motor accident.

The APC had zoned the seat to Bassa Local Government Area to enable the area to produce someone who will complete the tenure and a committee headed by Sen. Timothy Adudu was set up to carry out the exercise.

The committee, which also set up an electoral committee, chaired by Hon Sam Para, commenced the exercise in which several aspirants across the three chiefdoms of Rukuba, Irigwe and Pengana indicated an interest in contesting the seat while an inhouse election was conducted and one aspirant each emerged from the three chiefdoms to include, Hon. Lumumba Da Adeh, Alhaji Babale Maitala and Yusuf Daudu.

The committee conducted mock party primaries across the three chiefdoms on Monday to come up with a sole candidate that will contest the election with other political parties. Hon Lumumba Da Adeh polled 58 votes, Yusuf Daudu scored 5 votes while Babale Ibrahim Maitala, who opted out of the exercise, scored 0.

Declaring the result, the chairman of the electoral committee, Hon Sam Para, said: ‘With the powers conferred on the committee and in line with the exercise conducted, Hon. Lumumba Da Adeh is the winner having scored the highest number of votes cast (58) during the primaries.’

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The former legislator, Hon Da Adeh, described the outcome of the exercise as a demonstration of confidence in his ability and capability to represent them in the forthcoming by-election.

He called on other two contestants and other aspirants who had indicated interest to consider what happened as a family affair, stressing that the common objective was to have one of them represent them at the general election.

He further called on them to put behind all that transpired in the course of the exercise and join hands to deliver the party to ensure that APC re-occupy the office which was the turn of Bassa Local Government Area until the demise of Haruna Maitala.

Hon Adeh also advised the APC to mobilize the people and reconcile its members, all stakeholders aspirants in other to forge a common and formidable front against other political parties when the by-election is held.

It would be recalled that after the demise of Hon Haruna Maitala on April 2, a member representing Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, the APC had set up a committee headed by Sen Timothy Adudu with a mandate to come up with a consensus candidate from Bassa LGA to complete the tenure of the deceased who was from the local government area.