Benue APC disqualifies 59 state assemblycandidates

they can appeal – State Organising Sec

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

The Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has disqualified 59 aspirants from contesting the party’s upcoming House of Assembly primaries, citing alleged non‑compliance with party guidelines and the party constitution.

The decision followed a screening process in which the party’s House of Assembly Screening Committee examined 146 aspirants. Of those, 86 were cleared to proceed to the primaries or to be selected through consensus arrangements.

A screening report obtained by journalists, signed by Committee Chairman Auwalu Ishiye and Secretary Tijjani Abdullahi, indicated that the 59 aspirants were disqualified for “non compliance with party guidelines and party constitution.”

The party affirmed that the disqualified aspirants have the right to appeal the decision.

State Organising Secretary James Ornguga said an Appeal Committee has already begun hearing petitions from aspirants who are dissatisfied with the outcome.

He explained, “The committee entrusted with the responsibility had already started its works because unsuccessful candidates have the right of appeal. In fact, they have already filed their appeals.

“The party sent two committees to the state. There is the Screening Committee and the Screening Appeal Committee. So, the Screening Appeal Committee headed by Alhaji Lawal Abubakar sat today (Tuesday) and they have received petitions from people who felt dissatisfied with the process.”

Ornguga noted that most of the disqualifications stemmed from discrepancies in the documents submitted by the aspirants.

“Since most of these problems arose from the documents that the aspirants presented, they are going to match the petitions with their own files containing the documents as submitted to them.

“And if there are people who actually did well and do not have issues but were unjustly disqualified, their names will be published tomorrow to continue,” he said.

He emphasized that the screening exercise was carried out diligently and without bias, adding that the party is not targeting any particular aspirant.

“The committee is working on that already. While in the hall, I think about 30 people came to complain. So, if in the end there is merit in their presentations, they will be cleared. So, the party holds no grudge against them. There are simple issues that if you don’t obey, you run into crisis at a time like this,” he added.

Ornguga identified several specific grounds for disqualification, including non‑payment of party dues by nominators, an insufficient number of nominators, age discrepancies, and inconsistencies in academic qualifications.

He explained, “It is expected that all the people nominating you for this position must be financial members of the party, meaning they must have paid their party dues. Hence, if somebody who is not a financial member nominates you and you are unable to bring evidence that he paid his dues, you can be disqualified.

“There is provision for about 120 nominators. So, if you have less than that, it could also be a ground for your disqualification. Some of them have disparities in their ages.

“Some have inconsistencies in their qualifications. And the committee did a very diligent job and arrived at that. They are not witch‑hunting anybody,” he added.

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