By Emmanuel Antswen
Some APC supporters from Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency staged a peaceful protest over the alleged replacement of the party’s House of Representatives primary winner by its national secretariat.
The protesters who took to the street at Lessel, Ushongo LGA urged the APC National Working Committee to uphold the result of the May 16 primary election.
According to them, Prof. Kohol Iornem was declared winner after polling 40,672 votes to defeat five other aspirants, including the incumbent lawmaker, Mr Terseer Ugbor, who scored 750 votes.
They expressed concern over reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination forms had allegedly been presented to Ugbor instead of the declared winner of the primary.
The protesters maintained that any attempt to substitute the outcome of the primary election would undermine the democratic principles of the party and disregard the mandate freely given by party members.
The protest was led by prominent APC members, including Ken Kaase and Aondolumun Ordorugh called on the party leadership to safeguard the integrity of its internal democratic process.
The protesters argued that the wishes of party members should not be ignored, particularly in a constituency where, according to them, Ushongo people had not produced a member of the HoR in the past 16 years.
They warned that imposing a candidate against the decision reached through the primary election could create division within the party, weaken its electoral prospects and affect its chances in the 2027 general elections.
The protesters marched through major streets in Lessel to the Ushongo Local Government Council Secretariat and the chairman’s official residence, where they were received by the Executive Chairman of the council, Hon. Terkimbir Adzu.
Adzu acknowledged their concerns and assured them that their grievances would be conveyed to the Benue State Governor.
He also commended the protesters for conducting themselves peacefully and expressed optimism that the candidate who emerged through the democratic process would eventually be recognised.
The demonstrators displayed placards bearing inscriptions such as: “Give Us Back Our Mandate. Reps is for Ushongo,” “We Didn’t Vote Terseer Ugbor, We Voted Prof. Kohol,” “Tinubu, Save Our Democracy,” and “We Can’t Vote for Someone Else and Another is Announced.”
Other placards read: “Direct Primaries? Indirect Primaries? Consensus? How Did Terseer Ugbor Emerge?” “20 Years of Reps in Kwande is Unfair,” and “Ushongo Deserves It This Time.” (NAN)www.nannews.ng
