By Aloysius Umalo, Makurdi
Barely two weeks to the conduct of Local Government elections in Benue State, about twenty two Chairmanship Candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA have withdrawn from the participating in the October fifth 2024 scheduled Local Government elections, citing lack of confidence in the State Independence Electoral Commission, BESIEC to conduct credible elections.
The State Chairman of APGA, Comrade Joseph Inalegu Ogli, who disclosed this during and exclusive interview with our Correspondent stated that only one Candidate of the party, Hon. Mrs. Winifred Elaigwu of Agatu Local Government Area has resolved to feature in the contest due to the overwhelming support she enjoy across party lines.
Comrade Inalegu said, the 276 Councilorship Candidates of the party have equally boycotted the elections due to credibility question on the integrity of the state electoral umpire to conduct transparent polls.
"We are participating in the forthcoming Council elections in Benue State but we are featuring only one Candidate for Chairmanship position, a woman in Agatu Local Government where we will put up a good fight in Agatu and we hope to win that election by the grace of God".
He expressed emphatic doubt and fears about the sincerity of the State Electoral body in the Council polls.
"Our concern is that BESIEC is not acting in conformity with electoral laws by not carrying other political parties along apart from APC".
He alleged that the State Electoral Commission has turned down several requests to meet with the Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC), the umbrella body of registered Political Parties in Nigeria, Benue State Chapter.
"The IPAC has written severally through our organising secretary to meet and have an interface with them ahead of the election so that we can raise our observations on some grey areas but they keep turning us down".
The APGA Chairman notes that the body language of the State Electoral Commission has heightened the fears of the eight political parties that have expressed willingness to participate in the Council polls.
"With the behaviour of BESIEC, we have no confidence that they will conduct a free, credible and transparent election. BESIEC is acting the script of the government in power that put them there.
They ought to have invited us for a roundtable discussion so that we will know their plans and how they intend to go about with the election".
According to him, "the lack of transparency has made Candidates of my party to withdraw from participating in the election, because they are afraid that it will amount to waste of resources as the votes will not reflect the true wishes of the electorates".
Comrade Inalegu also noted that the announcement of the BESIEC Chairman last week that the Commission would not make use of BIVAS in the conduct of the election was itself an indication that the process would be flawed.
He vowed that efforts to rigg the election, particularly in Agatu Local Government would be resisted with every legal process and vehemence.
"Let me assure you that I have already formally communicated our position to our national secretariat that if BESIEC sit somewhere and announce the results rather than allow the election to take place, we will challenge the process in the court of law".
On the credibility of the party's sole Chairmanship Candidate, Hon. Winifred Elaigwu, the APGA Chairman insisted that she remains the most preferred Candidate for the job adding that the sponsorship of her candidature was being spearheaded by supporters across party lines.
He informed that the party is working out modalities to take over the state from the All Progressives Congress, APC in the 2027 general elections in the state.
"Since the last general elections where we failed to win the Governorship election, we have gone back to the drawing board to evaluate our mistakes and I can assure you that in 2027, APGA will wrestle power from APC in the state".
Inalegu attributed some of the factors that led to mass failure of the party in the last general elections to free donation of expression of interest forms to aspirants who did not only betray the party but also exhibited unseriousness, and vowed that in subsequent elections, only aspirants who are financially buoyant and willing to stand by the party would be allowed to run on the party's platform.
