The National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress has officially altered the internal geopolitical layout of Benue State by executing a sweeping, total reversal of the outcomes of the recently concluded National Assembly primary elections. In a dramatic internal policy shift, the apex leadership of the party removed several high-profile legislative candidates who had initially emerged victorious from the state-level primaries, systematically replacing them with a completely revised roster of official nominees.
Among the most stunning casualties of this high-stakes political intervention is the former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam. Suswam's previous victory in the highly competitive Benue North East Senatorial primary election has been formally nullified by the national secretariat. In his stead, the party has reinstated the incumbent Senator, Emmanuel Udende, as its official flagbearer for the upcoming general elections.
According to official party communications, these radical adjustments were implemented following a thorough review of petitions by the specialized APC Primary Election Appeal Committee. The drastic modifications have already been integrated into the final, definitive list of legislative candidates officially submitted by the party to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja. The comprehensive structural review targeted and altered the candidacies for two of the three senatorial districts in Benue State, alongside five distinct federal constituencies within the House of Representatives.
Political analysts and regional observers within the North Central zone state that this latest decision effectively dismantles the major political victories previously recorded by the camp of the Benue State Governor, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, during the initial intra-party voting rounds. Conversely, the national leadership’s intervention has successfully restored several prominent aspirants and incumbent lawmakers who are widely known to be loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
The internal power shift became even more pronounced in the structural adjustments made for the Benue North West Senatorial District. In that zone, Titus Zam was officially reinstated as the party’s authentic senatorial candidate. This administrative directive effectively displaced Benjamin Aber, who happens to be the husband of the high-ranking Benue State Secretary to the Government, Deborah Aber, thereby dealing a direct blow to the administrative camp running the state executive arm in Makurdi.
Simultaneously, the APC national secretariat announced the insertion of fresh candidates for five separate House of Representatives seats, effectively overriding the previous local primary results. In the Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency, Dickson Tarkighir was deployed to replace Christopher Ikper. In the Gwer East/Gwer West constituency, Austin Achado took over the ticket from Terhemba Nongo.
The structural adjustments continued in the Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency, where Terser Ugbor officially replaced Kohol Iormem. In the Buruku Federal Constituency, Sekav Iyortyom successfully displaced Gideon Inyom, while in the Vandeikya/Konshisha Federal Constituency, Sesoo Ikpagher was formally integrated to replace Livinus Tsar.
These sweeping substitutions were formally communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission through an official executive letter jointly signed by the APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, and the National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru. The national leadership explained to the electoral umpire that these structural alterations were strictly necessitated by the definitive findings, logistical reports, and legal recommendations compiled by its internal Primary Election Appeal Committee.
This dramatic development comes approximately six weeks after the conclusion of the Benue APC primaries, which were initially interpreted by regional commentators as a resounding, comprehensive political victory for Governor Hyacinth Alia in his prolonged, intense battle for supremacy against Senator George Akume over the control of the state's party machinery.
During the initial House of Representatives primaries conducted on May 17, 2026, six serving federal lawmakers aligned with the SGF’s faction suffered defeats in their bids to secure re-election tickets. This defeated group included Austin Achado, Dickson Tarkighir, Terser Ugbor, Sekav Iyortyom, and Sesoo Ikpagher. Following the intervention of the national leadership, all five individuals have successfully regained their coveted tickets.
Two days later, on May 19, 2026, the local political environment was further shaken when Gabriel Suswam defeated incumbent Senator Emmanuel Udende in the Benue North East senatorial primary, while Benjamin Aber emerged victorious ahead of Titus Zam in Benue North West. Those initial victories were heavily celebrated by the governor's loyalists as proof of Alia’s dominance.
The local primaries had also rejected proposals for automatic return tickets for serving lawmakers—a stabilizing strategy that had been publicly promoted by Akume during an APC reconciliation meeting in Makurdi prior to the voting. Akume had argued for inclusiveness, stating that the party must ensure everybody has a place. However, Governor Alia rejected the proposal, maintaining that neither President Bola Tinubu nor the national leadership endorsed automatic tickets.
With the revised candidate list now officially uploaded to the INEC portal, the power dynamic within the Benue APC has been re-balanced into an exact mathematical equilibrium. Governor Alia’s camp managed to retain seven major National Assembly tickets, including Francis Agbo for the Benue South Senate seat, along with several federal constituencies. Following the substitutions, the Akume camp also controls exactly seven National Assembly tickets, establishing a tense power-sharing reality between the two political giants of the state.
