Benue APC Guber Primary: Gemade Kicks, Accuses Election Committee Of Producing Fake Result

The immediate past Senator representing Benue northeast senatrial district and a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Barnabas Gemade has accused the APC governorship primary election committee headed by Dr. Peter Ojie of faking the result earlier announced on Saturday.

In a press statement issued to journalists in Makurdi on Sunday, Sen. Gemade alleged that the electoral officers purportedly sat at the party secretariat and never moved to any of the venues throughout the state, adding that party members who gathered there, gathered in vain.

According to the statement, the results were simply fabricated, and allocated to aspirants by some election panel members and state executive committee members.

Gemade also alleged that besides the conduct of the primaries outside the stipulated schedule of the NWC timetable, the Direct mode was no longer available to the party and so, violated the Electoral Act as well as INEC guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 elections.

The statement quoted Senator Gemade as rejecting the result in totality, alleging that the act was perpetrated purposely to disgrace them before Benue populace, described it as shameful and cautioned the Benue state chapter of the (APC) of the risk of not producing a candidate for the 2023 governorship elections if not corrected.

“It’s regrettable that inspite of the patriotic caution as a faithful party man who wishes the party well, the APC 2022 governorship primary election committee headed by Dr. Peter Ojie went ahead to conduct what can best be described as a sham primary election that has produced a bogus result.

“In the said primaries which commenced on Friday, 27th May, 2022 and which results were announced on the 28th May, 2022, I Senator Barnabas Gemade observed that, there were no guidelines issued for the primaries and there were no party membership registers at any of the ward venues.

“The electoral officers purportedly sat by the party secretariat, never moved to any of the venues throughout the state and party members who gathered there, gathered in vain.

“The so called results announced on Saturday, 28th May, 2022, were simply fabricated, and allocated to aspirants by some election panel members and state executive committee members.

“I hereby reject in totality the sham called Direct Primaries that produce Fr. Alia as a governorship candidate for the party in Benue State,” Gemade kicked.

This article was originally published on Nigeria News