An All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Benue State, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun, has faulted the outcome of the party’s governorship primary election, insisting that the process was riddled with irregularities and should either be cancelled or resolved in his favour.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Kuraun rejected the victory claimed by Governor Hyacinth Alia, arguing that the May 21, 2026 primary did not reflect democratic standards due to alleged manipulation and procedural violations.
He maintained that the exercise was fundamentally flawed and failed to meet the expectations of a credible party election.
Kuraun also accused the APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee of making itself inaccessible to aggrieved aspirants, alleging that repeated attempts to file complaints were frustrated by the committee’s “deliberate unavailability.”
According to him, neither he nor his legal representatives could locate members of the panel to submit an appeal, a situation he described as a calculated move to deny him internal party justice.
“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 said.
He disclosed that he eventually sent his petition through DHL to the APC National Chairman, with copies forwarded to the party’s National Legal Adviser. The party reportedly acknowledged receipt on May 25, 2026, but has yet to respond or schedule a hearing.
Kuraun added that his legal team had also issued a reminder and pre-action notice on May 27, warning that statutory timelines for pre-election disputes were running out.
The aspirant further claimed he was the only contestant who fully complied with the party’s preparatory guidelines, stating that he submitted complete lists of ward and local government agents covering all 276 wards and 23 LGAs in Benue State, which were duly acknowledged by the election committee.
He alleged that despite the presence of his agents across the state, election materials failed to reach several designated polling centres on the day of the primary.
“My agents and supporters across the 23 local government areas waited at their respective ward centres for election materials, but in many cases, they never arrived at the approved locations,” he said.
Kuraun further alleged that materials were diverted to undisclosed locations, resulting in the fabrication of results in areas where voting did not take place.
He challenged the declared winner to provide verifiable video or photographic evidence of accreditation, voting, sorting, counting, and collation across all 276 wards in the state.
Among other allegations, he cited irregular vote allocations in wards where agents were absent, zero votes recorded in areas he claimed to have won, and results announced from locations where no election allegedly held.
Describing the process as “a direct assault on internal party democracy,” Kuraun urged the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to either nullify the primary and conduct a fresh, transparent exercise or declare him winner based on what he called substantial compliance with party rules.
“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 APC NWC to cancel the primary or declare me the valid winner,” he said.
He also appealed for calm among his supporters, urging them to pursue redress through lawful and peaceful means.