A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun, has rejected the outcome of the party's governorship primary election, calling on the party leadership to either declare him winner or conduct a fresh exercise.
Kuraun, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, alleged that the primary held on May 21, 2026, was marred by widespread irregularities, manipulation, and denial of due process. He specifically challenged the emergence of Governor Hyacinth Alia as winner of the exercise, insisting that the process failed to meet acceptable democratic standards.
The aspirant accused the APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee of deliberately making itself unavailable, thereby frustrating attempts by aggrieved aspirants to seek redress through the party's internal mechanisms. According to him, despite repeated efforts by himself, his representatives, and legal team to file an appeal, members of the committee could not be found anywhere.
It is my firm belief that this deliberate unavailability was calculated to frustrate my constitutional and democratic right to seek redress within the party framework, he stated.
Kuraun said he subsequently forwarded his petition via DHL courier to the National Chairman of the APC, with copies also sent to the party's National Legal Adviser. He added that the complaint was officially acknowledged on May 25, 2026, but lamented that the party had yet to respond or invite him for a hearing.
The governorship aspirant further disclosed that his solicitors issued a formal reminder and pre-action notice to the APC leadership on May 27, warning of the expiration of statutory timelines applicable to pre-election disputes.
Kuraun maintained that he was the only aspirant who substantially complied with the party's preparatory requirements ahead of the primary. He claimed he submitted comprehensive lists of ward and local government agents covering all 276 council wards and 23 local government areas of Benue State, and that the submission was formally acknowledged by the election committee.
According to him, his agents and supporters were present across the state in anticipation of a credible exercise, but election materials allegedly failed to reach several designated ward centres.
My agents and supporters across the 23 local government areas waited at their respective ward centres for the arrival of election materials. However, in many instances, these materials never arrived at the approved centres for the conduct of the primary election, he alleged.
He further claimed that election materials were diverted to unknown locations, leading to the alleged fabrication of results in areas where no voting took place.
Kuraun challenged anyone declared winner of the primary to provide authentic video or pictorial evidence showing accreditation, voting, counting, and collation across the 276 council wards in the state. He also listed alleged irregularities, including allocation of votes to aspirants whose agents were absent in several wards, recording of zero votes in areas he claimed to have won, and announcement of figures from locations where voting allegedly did not occur.
The aspirant described the disputed primary as a direct assault on democratic credibility and internal party democracy. He therefore urged the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to either cancel the primary and conduct a fresh, transparent, and independently supervised exercise, or declare him winner based on what he described as his substantial compliance with party guidelines.
In view of the overwhelming irregularities, absence of transparency, denial of due process, and failure of the exercise to meet acceptable democratic standards, I respectfully call on the National Working Committee of the APC to cancel the purported governorship primary in Benue State or declare me the valid winner, he said.
Kuraun urged his supporters across the state to remain peaceful and law-abiding while pursuing redress through lawful and democratic means.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC had yet to officially respond to the allegations.
