At least 81 aspirants are vying for seats in Saturday’s House of Representatives primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, as the party prepares for a highly competitive selection process across multiple constituencies.
A released list in the early hours of Saturday indicated that the Vandeikya/Konshisha Federal Constituency has 14 contenders seeking the party’s ticket. This is the same constituency of Governor Hyacinth Alia.
In the Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency, seven aspirants are in the race for the APC nomination. The area is the home constituency of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume. Among those contesting there is his wife, Regina Akume.
For the Otukpo/Ohimini Federal Constituency, four aspirants are competing for the party’s ticket, including Blessing Onuh, the daughter of former Senate President and current National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, David Mark.
Meanwhile, the APC state secretariat witnessed a heavy presence of aspirants and party members, reflecting the intensity of the primaries.
The exercise comes at a time when party leaders in Benue are intensifying efforts to ease internal tensions between factions aligned with Governor Alia and SGF George Akume, following months of disputes within the party structure in the state.