Even as campaigns for the 2023 general elections are about to kick-off, a youth group, Benue Youth Alliance, BYA, has expressed the fear that the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Benue state might not field a candidate for the governorship election except the leaders unite to salvage the situation.
The leader of the group, Comrade Owoicho Onyilo, stated this while speaking to journalists in Makurdi, saying if nothing was done to withdraw the court cases and quickly settle for a consensus candidate, the APC in Benue state might not participate in the governorship election come 2023.
Onyilo charged the party leadership at the state and national level to unite, as a matter of urgency, and resolve the crisis over Benue governorship candidature for the sake of peace.
Recall that some of the aggrieved gubernatorial aspirants, Chief Mike Aondakaa, SAN, Engr. Barnabas Gemade and Professor Terhemen Shija, had gone to court to challenge the process that brought Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, as the party gubernatorial candidate.
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Onyilo said the party leadership must rise and salvage the situation to prevent a repeat of the Taraba experience in Benue.
“At this point, the Benue youths are worried because the party may not feature in the 2023 general election because a lot of aggrieved members and aspirants are in court to challenge the emergence of the Reverend Father.
“We have seen what happened in Taraba in which the election of the APC was nullified and in Zamfara where the PDP election was also nullified. We don’t want the same thing to happen in Benue APC.
“They should sit together and select a consensus candidate from among those who contested for the sake of our party, the APC.
“It is too cumbersome for the party to bear that risk at the moment. Even if the court asks the party to go for another primary now, it would be too late. We need to forge ahead.”
