By Amos Aar
PREPARATORY to the court-ordered gubernatorial rerun primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in eleven local government areas in Benue State which has been scheduled to hold on 1st and 2nd February, 2023, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has set up committees and an appeal panel to conduct the election and to look into issues that may arise from the exercise respectively.
A statement on Sunday by APC state organising secretary, Mr James Ornguga, on behalf of the NWC, a 7-member rerun primary election committee forwarded to the Benue State chapter of the party has Sen. Bashir Garba Lado as chairman and Margaret Duru as secretary. Other members of the committee include Hon. Yakubu Adamu, Musa Mohammed, Ahmed Attah, Ikechukwu Umeh and Hon. Baba Kaumi Liman.
The rerun election appeal committee, also made up of seven members, has Umma Kolo as chairman and Engr. Adamu U. Sanda as secretary, while Zubairu Aliyu, Barr. C. J. Chinwuba, Cynthia Njoku, Hon. Modu Abba and Dr Kabiru Shehu Habib are to serve as member.
The statement indicated that the NWC of the party has also appointed local government returning officers/supervisors in the court-ordered rerun as follows: Gboko LGA: Akaah Mannaseh Aondohemba as presiding/returning officer, Gyungu Samuel Tersoo as secretary, and Hon. Chief Moses Chiahemba Ayom as supervisor
Gwer East has Hon. Stephen Tyochir as presiding/returning officer, Hon. Dickson Faasema, secretary, and Amb. Prof. Steve Torkuma Ugbah as supervisor.
Gwer West has Ligye Joseph as presiding/returning officer, Iortim Charles, secretary, and Chief Ameh Udoh, supervisor. Guma has Terseer Iorbee, presiding/returning officer, Pav Cornelius Terlumun as secretary, and Hon. Engr. Abraham Atotse as supervisor, while Katsina Ala has Hon. Jonathan Lahave, presiding/returning officer, Kaave Francis as secretary, and Hon. Andrew Iorkyaa, supervisor.
Logo: Chiahemba Emmanuel Terfa; presiding/returning officer, James Gbor, secretary, and Hon. Mike Msuaan, supervisor. Makurdi: Gbenda Terver; presiding/returning Officer, Ngutor Dagba, Secretary, and Rt. Hon. Mrs Dorothy Mato, Supervisor. Otukpo: Isah Abdullahi, presiding/returning officer, Adah Nath, secretary, and Sen. Ameh Ebute, supervisor.
Ukum: Hon. Robert Mnaorga, presiding/returning officer, Ben Ingyough, secretary, and Hon. Chief Agbo Ogar, supervisor. Tarka: Ihomun Daniel Morgan; presiding/returning officer, Hon. Mrs Mlumun Gever, secretary, and Chief Akange Audu, supervisor. Vandeikya: Hon. Steve Adamgbe, presiding/returning officer, Leonard Yuhe, secretary, and Engr. Peter Ashiekaa, supervisor.
Meanwhile, the state chairman of the party, Comrade Austin Agada, has invited stakeholders of the APC to an emergency stakeholders meeting scheduled for Monday, January 30, 2023 at the party’s secretariat, Makurdi at 12 noon.
The stakeholders specifically invited, according to a statement, include; the state leader of the party, Sen. Dr George Akume, members of the State Working Committee (SWC), leadership of the party’s Elders’ Council, all gubernatorial aspirants, local government party chairmen from the affected local governments with 3 critical stakeholders each per local government, all senatorial, House of Representatives and State Assembly candidates.
The party has also reminded all aspirants in the rescheduled gubernatorial rerun primary election to forward the list of their agents across the 137 wards where the primary election is billed to hold as party registers have already been sent to the affected wards for party members to confirm their membership status ahead of the court-ordered primary election.
