A governorship hopeful within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun, has called on the party’s national hierarchy to either void the recently concluded governorship primary or formally acknowledge him as the victor.
Governor Hyacinth Alia emerged as the APC flagbearer after securing 367,786 votes. Other contenders included Terwase Orbunde with 3,247 votes and Kuraun with 2,923 votes.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Kuraun dismissed the primary outcome, arguing that the event lacked the integrity, openness, and equity expected from a major political party.
He claimed the process was rigged and did not reflect the authentic will of APC members across the 276 wards and 23 local government areas of the state.
Kuraun also asserted that among all aspirants, he was the only one who strictly adhered to APC’s pre-primary guidelines.
“Before the primary, I submitted a full list of my ward and local government agents to the APC Governorship Primary Election Committee at the party’s state secretariat in Makurdi, and it was formally received.
“As far as I know, no other aspirant provided such a comprehensive agents’ list covering all 276 council wards and 23 local government areas.
“Crucially, I was the sole aspirant whose agents were physically present and verifiably deployed across the field during the exercise. This is backed by extensive photographic and video evidence captured across the wards and local governments in Benue State.
“Our agents and supporters were visibly present, mobilized, and ready for the democratic process. They wore identification tags, coordinated party faithful, and awaited the distribution of election materials in anticipation of a credible exercise.
“Unfortunately, what transpired was deeply troubling,” he stated.
He alleged that election materials did not reach many designated ward centers, despite reports that they left Makurdi around 1:00 p.m. for distribution statewide.
“My agents and supporters across the 23 local government areas patiently waited at their respective ward centers for the election materials, which reportedly departed Makurdi at about 1:00 p.m. for onward distribution to the designated wards. However, in many instances, these materials never arrived at the approved ward centers for the conduct of the primary.
“Instead, reports and evidence later showed that the materials were taken away or found in the possession of certain government appointees and individuals outside the designated electoral process.
“This unfortunate situation created an opportunity for the diversion of election materials to unknown locations and opened the door for falsified results without actual voting taking place in many areas.
“I challenge anyone claiming victory in that exercise to publicly provide authentic video or pictorial evidence showing actual accreditation, voting, counting, and collation processes across the 276 council wards of Benue State,” he said.
Kuraun also revealed that he initiated the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism as per APC guidelines, but alleged that members of the appeal committee became unreachable when he tried to file his complaint.
“However, when it came time to formally submit my appeal before the Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee, the committee members became unavailable and could not be found anywhere, despite repeated efforts by myself, my representatives, and my legal team to reach them.
“I firmly believe this deliberate unavailability was intended to frustrate my constitutional and democratic right to seek redress within the party framework.
“Faced with this obstruction, I had no choice but to forward my appeal via DHL courier service to the National Chairman of the APC, with copies sent to the National Legal Adviser.
“The complaint was officially acknowledged at the National Chairman’s office on 25 May 2026. Regrettably, to date, I have not received any formal response or been invited for any meeting, hearing, or discussion concerning the complaint.
“On 27 May 2026, I sent a formal reminder and pre-action notice through my solicitors, again urging the party leadership to urgently address the complaint before the statutory timelines for pre-election matters expire,” he added.
The APC aspirant stressed that many party supporters turned out across the state hoping for a transparent primary process and warned against suppressing their participation through manipulation.
He therefore called on the APC National Working Committee to either conduct a fresh governorship primary under independent supervision or declare him the winner.
“Given the overwhelming irregularities, lack of transparency, denial of due process, and failure of the exercise to meet acceptable democratic standards, I respectfully call on the National Working Committee of the APC to:
“Cancel the purported governorship primary election conducted in Benue State on 21 May 2026 and conduct a fresh, transparent, and independently supervised primary election.
“Declare me, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun, the valid winner of the primary election, based on the undisputed fact that I was the only aspirant who substantially complied with the party’s stipulated preparatory requirements, including the acknowledged submission and deployment of agents across all 276 council wards and 23 local government areas of Benue State, as well as the overwhelming turnout and visible participation of my supporters despite the failure of election materials to reach designated ward centers.
“Benue deserves credible leadership recruitment processes, not manufactured outcomes. Internal democracy remains the foundation upon which public democratic legitimacy rests. Once internal democracy collapses, governance itself becomes endangered,” he said.