Benue APC Governorship Crisis Deepens As Parties Head To Court

The crisis rocking the All Progressive Congress in Benue state has deepened, as some of the aspirants head to court to challenge the submission of Dr Samuel Ortom’s name as consensus candidate for next years governorship election.

The case filed by two of the five aspirants, who participated in the botched December 5 primary election, Mr Emmanuel Jime and Joseph Waku, is billed for hearing on January 7, 2015 at a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

They are seeking the court’s order to compel the party to conclude the primary election it started.

Four of the aspirants had jointly petitioned the party headquarters, alleging lack of level playing grounds and subsequent sidelining from the meeting where Mr Ortom was selected as a consensus candidate of the party.

The Jime campaign organisation said it resorted to the court after the petition jointly signed by its candidate and three others was not addressed by the party. The consensus candidate, however, says due process was followed in his selection.

Despite this claims, the party and some members are locked in counter accusations on the legality or otherwise of the emergence of its governorship candidate.

Some of the candidate in reacting to the claim by Doctor Samuel Ortom, are stuck to their guns, insisting that the botch December 5 primary must be concluded.

Notwithstanding the threat, the APC governorship candidate said he remained the best man for the job, identifying critical areas of socio-economic needs of the state that needed urgent attention.

With this internal division, the much anticipated challenge the APC promised to haul on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, may be a mirage, as key actors in the opposition party are locked in the supremacy battle.