Some aggrieved aspirants on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Benue State have called for the immediate cancellation of its primary election which results are yet to be declared.
The angry aspirants from all the three senatorial districts of the state alleged that the exercises conducted on Saturday were marred with grave irregularities.
Speaking for the complainants on Monday at a press conference in Makurdi, Senator Joseph Akaagerger, also a senatorial aspirant of the party, stressed the need for cancellation of the national and state assemblies primary election of the party in the state over alleged irregularities and malpractices.
He cited cases of snatching of electoral materials by hired thugs, violence, vote buying and predetermined choice of successful candidates before the conduct of the primaries as part of the irregularities which characterized the exercise.
Akaagerger further disclosed from the petition written to the party’s national secretariat, that there was criminal manipulation of the election results in all the 277 wards across the state.
He added that parallel executive of the party had been created in four local governments without following the party’s Constitution just as he accused all returning officers posted to the seven local government areas in his home, North East district consisting of 84 wards of submitting election materials to Senator Barnabas Gemade’s House in Gboko and some result sheets handed over to him.
“Election results are possibly coming out from that house. In Benue North-west, in some local governments where elections never held results were recorded in favour of candidates loyal to Chief Gemade.
“Consequently, we pray for immediate cancellation of the purported primary conducted on 29th September, 2018 because they are a charade and a sham,” he said.
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