Benue APC Primary: Kuraun alleges Alia camp frustrated process, insists on victory

A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun, has alleged that the camp of Governor Hyacinth Alia frustrated the conduct of the party’s governorship primary election, insisting that he remains the valid winner of the exercise. Kuraun claimed that he was the only aspirant who fully complied with the party’s guidelines and preparatory requirements ahead of the disputed primary scheduled for May 21, 2026. In a statement on Friday, the APC aspirant said he submitted a comprehensive list of ward and local government agents to the APC Governorship Election Committee at the party secretariat in Makurdi before the exercise. He further alleged that although his agents were fully mobilised across the state, election materials were never deployed to polling centres after being verified at the APC State Secretariat. According to him, his representative, Dr. Samuel Tondo, verified the election materials in the presence of a representative of Governor Alia before the process allegedly stalled. Kuraun said he was prepared to provide pictorial and video evidence to substantiate his claims, insisting that his level of compliance and readiness distinguished him from other aspirants in the race. He therefore urged the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC to either declare him winner of the governorship primary or conduct a fresh exercise supervised by an independent committee constituted by the party’s national leadership. The controversy adds to growing tension within the Benue APC ahead of the 2027 elections, with disagreements over the conduct of the primary further deepening divisions among supporters of Governor Alia and other stakeholders within the ruling party. The APC leadership had earlier maintained that no official governorship primary results had been released, warning party members against circulating unofficial figures or making premature victory claims.