2023 Benue State gubernatorial election

2023 Benue State gubernatorial election
← 2019 18 March 2023 2027 →
Registered2,777,727
 
Nominee Hyacinth Alia Titus Uba Herman Hembe
Party APC PDP LP
Running mate Samuel Ode John Ngbede Christopher Onyiloyi Idu
Popular vote 473,933 223,913 41,881
Percentage 62.61% 29.58% 5.53%
LGA results

Alia:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Hembe:      50–60%
Uba:      50–60%

No election held:      
Governor before election

Samuel Ortom
PDP

Elected Governor

Hyacinth Alia
APC

The 2023 Benue State gubernatorial election took place on 18 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Benue State, concurrent with elections to the Benue State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly.[1][2] The election — which was postponed from its original 11 March date — was held three weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections.[3] Incumbent PDP Governor Samuel Ortom was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term. Hyacinth Alia — a suspended Catholic priest — gained the office for the APC by a 33% margin over PDP nominee House of Assembly Speaker Titus Uba.[4]

Party primaries were scheduled for between 4 April and 9 June 2022 with the Peoples Democratic Party nominating Uba on 25 May while the All Progressives Congress first held its primary on 26 and 27 May nominating Alia; however, the primary was partially annulled and a rerun was held on 9 June that was also won by Alia.[5][6][7][8] Despite the initial annulment, the rerun itself was partially annulled by a Court of Appeal ruling in January 2023 which ordered the APC to hold a third primary in 11 local government areas.[9] The new exercise, held on 2 February, resulted in a third victory for Alia.[10]

On 20 March, collation completed and INEC Returning Officer Faruk Kuta declared Alia as the victor. Official results show Alia winning nearly 474,000 votes and 63% of the vote as runner-up Uba received around 224,000 votes and 30% of the vote while LP nominee Herman Hembe came third with about 41,000 votes and 6% of the vote.[4] However, within days of the declaration, Uba announced that he would challenge the results at the electoral tribunal.[11]

Electoral system[edit]

The governor of Benue State is elected using a modified two-round system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of state local government areas. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government areas.

Background[edit]

Benue State is a diverse, agriculture-based state in the Middle Belt; although it is nicknamed the "Food Basket of the Nation" and has vast natural resources, Benue has faced challenges in security as inter-ethnic violence and conflict between herders and farmers heavily affect the state. The overproliferation of weaponry and increased pressure for land along with failures in governance led to the worsening of these clashes in the years ahead of the election.[12]

Politically, Benue's 2019 elections were categorized as a swing back towards the PDP in the aftermath of Ortom's 2018 defection back to the party. On the federal level, PDP nominee Atiku Abubakar narrowly won the state after Buhari had won it in 2015; legislatively, the PDP swept all three Senate seats and won seven House of Representatives seats. Statewise, Ortom won re-election by over 10% of the vote and the PDP won a majority in the House of Assembly.

During its second term, the Ortom administration's stated focuses included economic growth, stopping herder-farmer and ethnic conflicts, and infrastructural development. In terms of his performance, Ortom was commended for his proposals to end herder-farmer conflicts while being criticized for deflecting responsibility for insecurity, the initial failure of a 2019 peace meeting between Tiv and Jukun groups, a flawed COVID-19 response, his brief early 2021 spat with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed which descended into ethnic gibes, a corrupt land grab, and his perceived obsession with picking fights with the federal government.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Primary elections[edit]

The primaries, along with any potential challenges to primary results, were to take place between 4 April and 3 June 2022 but the deadline was extended to 9 June.[2][22] Arguments over an informal zoning gentlemen's agreement have led to disputes over whether it is the turn of the Jechira Tiv in Benue North-West Senatorial District, the Kwande Tiv in Benue North-East Senatorial District, and the Idoma in Benue South Senatorial District. The Jechira Gubernatorial Movement claims right to the governorship as they are the only Tiv subgroup to never have a governor complete a term, some Kwande people claim right to the governorship as some activists count the Jechira Governor Moses Adasu's shortened term and thus the rotation between Tiv subgroups would start again with the Kwande, and Idoma groups claim right to the governorship as no Idoma has ever held the office.[23][24][25]

While the major parties zoned their nominations to both a Jechira Tiv-majority area and the Idoma-majority Benue South Senatorial District, the PDP nominated a Tiv person while the APC nominee is from Benue South.

All Progressives Congress[edit]

In early May 2022, the state party zoned its nomination to two areas: the Jechira Tiv-majority local government areas of Vandeikya and Konshisha in the North-East and the entire South Senatorial District.[26]

On 20 April 2022, the APC National Executive Committee announced the party's schedule for gubernatorial primaries, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦10 million and nomination form price at ₦40 million with a 50% nomination form discount for candidates younger than 40 while women and candidates with disabilities get free nomination forms. Forms were to be sold from 26 April to 6 May until the deadline was later extended to 10 May then 12 May.[27] After the submission of nomination forms by 13 May, candidates were screened by a party committee on 14 and 15 May while 16 May was the date for the screening appeal process.[28] Ward congresses and LGA congresses were set for between 7 and 9 May to elect delegates for the primary. Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 26 May, in concurrence with other APC gubernatorial primaries; challenges to the result could be made the next day.[29][30][31][32]

Ahead of the primary, it was announced that the Benue APC would use the direct primary method to elect its nominee.[33] However, on primary day, the absence of election officials led to long delays and the postponement of some voting to 27 May.[34] After voting completed, Hyacinth Alia—a suspended Catholic priest—was announced as winner with over 525,000 votes, about 64% of the vote.[6] Immediately after the results were released, several of Alia's opponents rejected the vote totals as fabricated and petitioned the party for an annulment while one candidate—MHR Herman Hembe—left the party in protest.[35][36][37][38][39][40] On 4 June, the primary appeal committee released its report, recommending the primary's annulment due to the committee being unable to confirm the veracity of several results sheets;[41][42] in response, the APC National Working Committee ordered a rerun primary in 12 local government areas scheduled for 9 June.[7] In the rerun primary, Alia again came first as he won about 195,000 votes, about 72% of the vote.[8] However, his opponents again rejected the results with Michael Aondoakaa suing the party as Barnabas Andyar Gemade blamed minister George Akume for rigging the election.[43][44] Aondoakaa's lawsuit was dismissed by a Federal High Court ruling in November 2022.[45] However, the lawsuit of another losing aspirant— Terhemba Shija—was partially successful as a Court of Appeal ruling in January 2023 nullified the primary and ordered a rerun in the 11 local government areas that were not covered by the June rerun.[9] While the APC accepted the ruling and prepared to hold the rerun, Shija rejected it and appealed to higher courts.[46][47][48] Despite the appeal, the party swiftly organised the rerun for 2 February with it resulting in a third Alia victory.[49]

Nominated[edit]

Eliminated in primary[edit]

Withdrew[edit]

Results[edit]

Annulled original primary results

Candidates' vote share

  Hyacinth Alia (64.60%)
  Mathias Byuan (13.96%)
  Sam Ode (9.73%)
  Steven Lawani (5.75%)
  Other candidates (5.96%)
APC original primary results[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
APC Hyacinth Alia 526,807 64.60%
APC Mathias Byuan 113,816 13.96%
APC Sam Ode 79,369 9.73%
APC Steven Lawani 46,882 5.75%
APC Michael Aondoakaa 24,596 3.02%
APC Terwase Orbunde 12,446 1.53%
APC Terlumun Ikya (withdrawn) 3,680 0.45%
APC Herman Hembe 2,473 0.30%
APC Barnabas Andyar Gemade 2,365 0.29%
APC Godwin Ityoachimin 1,228 0.15%
APC Terhemba Shija 1,048 0.13%
APC Bernard Yisa 742 0.09%
APC Anyom Mlanga 0 0.00%
Total votes 815,452 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 0 N/A
Turnout 815,452 Unknown
Partially annulled rerun primary results

Candidates' vote share

  Hyacinth Alia (72.24%)
  Steven Lawani (8.85%)
  Sam Ode (8.03%)
  Mathias Byuan (5.23%)
  Other candidates (10.88%)
APC rerun primary results[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
APC Hyacinth Alia 195,314 72.24%
APC Steven Lawani 23,925 8.85%
APC Sam Ode 21,698 8.03%
APC Mathias Byuan 14,152 5.23%
APC Barnabas Andyar Gemade 3,831 1.42%
APC Michael Aondoakaa 3,517 1.30%
APC Terlumun Ikya (withdrawn) 2,746 1.02%
APC Terhemba Shija 1,859 0.69%
APC Terwase Orbunde 1,393 0.52%
APC Godwin Ityoachimin 860 0.32%
APC Herman Hembe (withdrawn) 720 0.27%
APC Bernard Yisa 338 0.13%
APC Anyom Mlanga 0 0.00%
Total votes 270,353 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 0 N/A
Turnout 270,353 73.75%

Candidates' vote share

  Hyacinth Alia (84.37%)
  Sam Ode (4.59%)
  Steven Lawani (4.35%)
  Other candidates (6.69%)
APC June rerun primary results (12 LGAs) + February rerun primary results (11 LGAs)
Party Candidate Votes %
APC Hyacinth Alia 410,682 84.37%
APC Sam Ode 22,319 4.59%
APC Steven Lawani 21,172 4.35%
APC Mathias Byuan 14,593 3.00%
APC Barnabas Andyar Gemade 5,125 1.05%
APC Michael Aondoakaa 3,815 0.78%
APC Terlumun Ikya (withdrawn) 2,851 0.59%
APC Terhemba Shija 2,217 0.46%
APC Terwase Orbunde 1,391 0.29%
APC Godwin Ityoachimin 1,139 0.23%
APC Herman Hembe (withdrawn) 638 0.13%
APC Bernard Yisa 581 0.12%
APC Anyom Mlanga 219 0.04%
Total votes 486,742 100.00%

People's Democratic Party[edit]

On 3 February 2021, Governor Samuel Ortom ordered all his appointees to suspend their gubernatorial campaigns or resign; this directive applied to his Chief of Staff Terwase Orbunde, who had announced his run for governor on 7 January.[61] Orbunde suspended his campaign on 7 February.[62] Ortom later directed any appointees preparing to run in a 2023 election to resign by 30 September; on that day, five appointees resigned with three (Orbunde, Water Resources Commissioner Dondo Ahire, and Education Commissioner Dennis Ityavyar) intending to run for governor.[63]

On 11 July 2021, Ortom said that the Benue PDP would decide whether to zone their nomination to either Benue South or Benue North-East.[64] This statement was a few days before meeting with PDP gubernatorial aspirants on 16 July.[65] But in early April 2022, the state party zoned its nomination to two local government areas: the Jechira Tiv-majority Vandeikya in the North-East and the Idoma-majority Otukpo in the South with the goal of southern and north-eastern party leaders unofficially agreeing on one candidate each who would then face each other in the primary. Reportedly, the southern candidate is Deputy Governor Benson Abounu while reports stated that there was an internal rift in the Benue PDP over the unofficial north-eastern candidate as Ortom (who has publicly come out in favor of a north-eastern Tiv nominee instead of a southern Idoma nominee) backed Ityavyar while PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu supported Assembly Speaker Titus Uba, party stakeholders eventually reached a decision on 18 April when it was announced that Uba would be the north-eastern candidate.[66][67][68][69][70] However, the arrangement was controversial as some candidates derided the process as undemocratic and lacking in transparency before they bought forms anyway.[71]

On 16 March 2022, the national PDP announced its gubernatorial primaries' schedule, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦1 million and the nomination form price at ₦20 million with a 50% discount for candidates between 25 and 30. Forms were to be sold until 1 April but the party later extended the deadline four times before reaching a final deadline of 22 April. After the submission of nomination forms by 25 April, candidates were screened by a party committee on 28 April while 2 May was the rescheduled date for the screening appeal process. Ward congresses were set for 29 April and LGA congresses were rescheduled for 10 May to elect delegates for the primary.[72] Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 25 May, in concurrence with all other PDP gubernatorial primaries; challenges to the result could be made in the following days.[73][74]

On the primary date, candidates contested an indirect primary in Makurdi that ended with Uba emerging as the PDP nominee after results showed him winning just under 90% of the delegates' votes. In his acceptance speech, Uba thanked his former opponents and party supporters.[5][75][76] Although he accepted the results and congratulated Uba, Abounu lamented discrimination against Idoma during his own speech.[77] A few days later, Ortom announced state PDP chairman John Ngbede would be the party's deputy gubernatorial nominee with observers noting the regional balance as Ngbede is from Benue South.[78]

Nominated[edit]

Eliminated in primary[edit]

Withdrew[edit]

Declined[edit]

Results[edit]

Candidates' vote share

  Titus Uba (89.58%)
  Benson Abounu (9.93%)
  Other candidates (0.49%)
PDP primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
PDP Titus Uba 731 89.58%
PDP Benson Abounu 81 9.93%
PDP Dennis Ityavyar 2 0.25%
PDP Paul Angya 1 0.12%
PDP Dominic Ucha 1 0.12%
PDP Ben Akaakar 0 0.00%
Total votes 816 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 20 N/A
Turnout 836 Unknown

Minor parties[edit]

Campaign[edit]

The early parts of the general election campaign focused on dealing with the aftermath of contentious party primaries. As controversy in the PDP centered around the party again refusing to choose a nominee from the Southern part of the state, Uba's post-primary reconciliation move was to pick a running mate from the region—John Ngbede from Agatu LGA.[78] In the APC, the controversy was mainly about the conduct of the primary itself as most of Alia's opponents rejected the results as fabricated. One of these opponents, Barnabas Andyar Gemade, and his allies wrote an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari that accused minister George Akume of imposing Alia as nominee and claimed that his continued candidacy could led to the party's disqualification.[95] In July 2022, Uba attempted to capitalize on the APC crisis by asking a court to disqualify Alia based on the claims of his intraparty opponents.[96]

Immediately after the primaries, observers noted the peculiarity of Alia's candidacy due to his occupation as a Catholic priest. He drew comparisons with former Governor Moses Adasu, who was also a Catholic priest. While it was also noted that the Church suspended Alia from the priesthood in May 2022, analysts said his profession was a major part of his primary campaign and Alia himself said that he was deciding "to extend it [the gospel] to governance."[97][98] By January 2023, observers continued focus on Alia's popularity but noted the power of incumbency benefiting Uba. On the other hand, Uba's weeks-long medical vacation removed him from campaigning and led to questions on his fitness to govern. Reporting also pointed out other potential factors such as legal cases against Alia's nomination and insecurity along with the more prominent minor party nominees—Joseph Waya (APGA), Herman Hembe (LP), and Bem Angwe (NNPP).[99] Later that month, discussion on the potential impact of challenges to the APC primary proved accurate as a Court of Appeal ruling partially nullified the party's primary and ordered a rerun in 11 local government areas.[9] However, the third primary simply resulted in another Alia victory and the continuation of his general election campaign.[10]

Later in February, focus switched to the nearing presidential election on 25 February. In the election, Benue voted for Bola Tinubu (APC); Tinubu won the state with 40.3% of the vote, beating Peter Obi (LP) at 40.0% and Atiku Abubakar (PDP) at 16.9%. Aside from the presidential result—which itself was a surprise as projections favored Obi, the senatorial elections had another surprise with Ortom losing to the APC in the North-West district. These two results, coupled with Ortom's low approval compared to Alia's popularity, led analysts in later February and early March to focus on Alia's rising chances.[100][101][102][103] Additionally, the presidential result pushed journalists to label Hembe as a major candidate, considering the high total of Obi.[104]

Projections[edit]

Source Projection As of
Africa Elects[a][105] Likely Alia 17 March 2023
Enough is Enough-
SBM Intelligence[b][106] 		Alia 2 March 2023

Conduct[edit]

Electoral timetable[edit]

On 26 February 2022, the Independent National Electoral Commission released the timetable, setting out key dates and deadlines for the election.[107] Months later on 27 May 2022, INEC made a slight revision to the timetable, allowing parties extra time to conduct primaries.[108]

  • 28 February 2022 – Publication of Notice of Election
  • 4 April 2022 – First day for the conduct of party primaries
  • 9 June 2022[c] – Final day for the conduct of party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from them
  • 1 July 2022 – First day for submission of nomination forms to INEC via the online portal
  • 15 July 2022 – Final day for submission of nomination forms to INEC via the online portal
  • 12 October 2022 – Commencement of the official campaign period
  • 16 March 2023[d] – Final day of the official campaign period

General election[edit]

Results[edit]

2023 Benue State gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes %
A Matthias Oyigeya
AA Matthew Asemayina Dabu
ADP Roseline Ada Chenge
APP Terrumun Kenneth Kwadzah
AAC Ewaoche Benjamin Obe
ADC Terhemen Tilley-Gyado
APC TBD
APGA Joseph Waya
LP Herman Hembe
New Nigeria Peoples Party Bem Reuben Angwe
NRM Sam Inalegwu Abah
PDP Titus Uba
PRP Levi Lumun Icheen
SDP James Bemgbator Mede
YPP Roberts Orya
ZLP Aondona Catherine Dabo-Adzuana
Total votes 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes N/A
Turnout

By senatorial district[edit]

The results of the election by senatorial district.

Senatorial District Hyacinth Alia
APC 		Herman Hembe
LP 		Titus Uba
PDP 		Others Total Valid Votes
Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage
Benue North-East Senatorial District[e]
(Zone A) 		171,153 65.79% 23,561 9.06% 60,291 23.18% 5,140 1.98% 260,145
Benue North-West Senatorial District[f]
(Zone B) 		207,953 66.13% 9,931 3.16% 92,140 29.30% 4,421 1.41% 314,445
Benue South Senatorial District[g]
(Zone C) 		94,827 52.02% 8,389 4.60% 71,482 39.22% 7,576 4.16% 182,274
Totals 473,933 62.61% 41,881 5.53% 223,913 29.58% 17,176 2.28% 756,903

By federal constituency[edit]

The results of the election by federal constituency.

Federal Constituency Hyacinth Alia
APC 		Herman Hembe
LP 		Titus Uba
PDP 		Others Total Valid Votes
Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage
Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency[h] 25,615 51.75% 1,752 3.54% 19,045 38.47% 3,089 6.24% 49,501
Apa/Agatu Federal Constituency[i] 15,407 44.71% 681 1.98% 17,740 51.48% 635 1.84% 34,463
Buruku Federal Constituency[j] 34,713 75.57% 1,155 2.51% 9,513 20.71% 556 1.21% 45,937
Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency[k] 70,407 73.38% 1,668 1.74% 22,521 23.47% 1,352 1.41% 95,948
Guma/Makurdi Federal Constituency[l] 71,803 63.65% 4,327 3.84% 34,412 30.50% 2,262 2.01% 112,804
Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency[m] 31,030 51.93% 2,781 4.65% 25,694 43.00% 251 0.42% 59,756
Katsina-Ala/Ukum/Logo Federal Constituency[n] 78,424 69.47% 913 0.81% 32,519 28.80% 1,035 0.92% 112,891
Konshisha/Vandeikya Federal Constituency[o] 60,783 58.11% 21,735 20.78% 18,893 18.06% 3,187 3.05% 104,598
Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency[p] 31,946 74.89% 913 2.14% 8,879 20.82% 918 2.15% 42,656
Oju/Obi Federal Constituency[q] 27,142 59.44% 2,796 6.12% 15,078 33.02% 645 1.41% 45,661
Otukpo/Ohimini Federal Constituency[r] 26,663 50.64% 3,160 6.00% 19,619 37.27% 3,207 6.09% 52,649
Totals 473,933 62.61% 41,881 5.53% 223,913 29.58% 17,176 2.28% 756,903

By local government area[edit]

The results of the election by local government area.

LGA Hyacinth Alia
APC 		Herman Hembe
LP 		Titus Uba
PDP 		Others Total Valid Votes Turnout Percentage
Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage
Ado[4][111] 8,662 60.34% 308 2.15% 4,379 30.50% 1,006 7.01% 14,355 17.79%
Agatu[4][111] 7,482 41.70% 216 1.20% 9,934 55.37% 311 1.73% 17,943 28.62%
Apa[4][111] 7,925 47.97% 465 2.82% 7,806 47.25% 324 1.96% 16,520 25.49%
Buruku[4][111] 34,713 75.57% 1,155 2.51% 9,513 20.71% 556 1.21% 45,937 35.78%
Gboko[4][111] 53,985 71.68% 1,493 1.98% 18,773 24.93% 1,065 1.41% 75,316 30.68%
Guma[4][111] 15,371 40.20% 535 1.40% 22,083 57.75% 250 0.65% 38,239 33.97%
Gwer East[4][111] 20,083 59.77% 1,272 3.78% 12,085 35.97% 161 0.48% 33,601 33.97%
Gwer West[4][111] 10,947 41.86% 1,509 5.77% 13,609 52.03% 90 0.34% 26,155 35.31%
Katsina-Ala[4][111] 34,347 82.43% 178 0.43% 6,716 16.12% 428 1.02% 41,669 25.07%
Konshisha[4][111] 13,997 32.47% 21,606 50.12% 5,905 13.70% 1,598 3.71% 43,106 33.30%
Kwande[4][111] No election held due to ballot paper error
Logo[4][111] 15,574 47.80% 296 0.91% 16,385 50.29% 327 1.00% 32,582 29.00%
Makurdi[4][111] 56,432 75.68% 3,792 5.09% 12,329 16.53% 2,012 2.70% 74,565 24.84%
Obi[4][111] 9,897 56.49% 1,185 6.77% 6,267 35.77% 170 0.97% 17,519 25.69%
Ogbadibo[4][111] 7,627 48.14% 405 2.56% 6,032 38.07% 1,779 11.23% 15,843 22.49%
Ohimini[4][111] 7,233 45.92% 973 6.18% 6,785 43.08% 760 4.83% 15,751 34.05%
Oju[4][111] 17,245 61.28% 1,611 5.72% 8,811 31.31% 475 1.69% 28,142 25.94%
Okpokwu[4][111] 9,326 48.31% 1,039 5.38% 8,634 44.73% 304 1.58% 19,303 25.57%
Otukpo[4][111] 19,430 52.66% 2,187 5.93% 12,834 34.78% 2,447 6.63% 36,898 25.04%
Tarka[4][111] 16,422 79.59% 175 0.85% 3,748 18.17% 287 1.39% 20,632 37.74%
Ukum[4][111] 28,503 73.77% 439 1.14% 9,418 24.37% 280 0.72% 38,640 27.74%
Ushongo[4][111] 31,946 74.89% 913 2.14% 8,879 20.82% 918 2.15% 42,656 36.70%
Vandeikya[4][111] 46,786 76.09% 129 0.21% 12,988 21.12% 1,589 2.58% 61,492 37.87%
Totals 473,933 62.61% 41,881 5.53% 223,913 29.58% 17,176 2.28% 756,903 %


See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ AfricaElects projections predict the likelihood of a candidate winning a state by categorizing a state as "Safe" for exceedingly likely, "Likely" for somewhat likely, and "Lean" for least likely. If no clear determination could be made, states are categorized as "tossups".
  2. ^ EiE-SBM projections predict which candidates will win states.
  3. ^ The original deadline was 3 June; however, INEC pushed it back to 9 June at the behest of parties.[109]
  4. ^ The original deadline was 9 March; however, INEC pushed it back to 16 March.[110]
  5. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Katsina-Ala, Konshisha, Kwande, Logo, Vandeikya, Ukum, and Ushongo.
  6. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Buruku, Gboko, Gwer East, Gwer West, Guma, Makurdi, and Tarka.
  7. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Ado, Agatu, Apa, Obi, Ogbadibo, Ohimini, Oju, Okpokwu, and Otukpo.
  8. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Ado, Ogbadibo, and Okpokwu.
  9. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Apa and Agatu.
  10. ^ Comprising the local government area of Buruku.
  11. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Gboko and Tarka.
  12. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Guma and Makurdi.
  13. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Gwer East and Gwer West.
  14. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Katsina-Ala, Logo. and Ukum.
  15. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Konshisha and Vandeikya.
  16. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Kwande and Ushongo.
  17. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Obi and Oju.
  18. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Ohimini and Otukpo.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Oyekanmi, Rotimi (26 February 2022). "It's Official: 2023 Presidential, National Assembly Elections to Hold Feb 25". INEC News. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b Jimoh, Abbas (26 February 2022). "INEC Sets New Dates For 2023 General Elections". Daily Trust. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  3. ^ Suleiman, Qosim. "It's Official: INEC postpones Saturday's governorship, state assembly elections". Premium Times. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Ejekwonyilo, Ameh. "Catholic priest Hyacinth Alia wins Benue State governorship election". Premium Times. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Ejembi, Rose. "BREAKING: Uba is Benue PDP guber candidate". The Sun. Makurdi. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Duru, Peter. "Suspended Benue Catholic priest, Alia, wins APC guber ticket; other aspirants protest". Vanguard. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b "APC orders gov primary rerun in 12 Benue local govts". The Punch. News Agency of Nigeria. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Father Alia Wins Benue Apc Governorship Re-run Primary Election". TVC News. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
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