The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has announced its intention to contest the results of the recent elections at both the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal. The ruling party in the state faced significant losses during the presidential and National Assembly elections, losing both senatorial seats and ten Federal House of Representatives seats to the All Progressive Congress (APC).
During a press conference held at the party secretariat along Otukpo Road in Makurdi on Friday, the acting chairman of the PDP in Benue State, Isaac Teryila, stated that the party would challenge the results from certain local government areas, citing breaches of existing laws. While Teryila did not specify which local government areas would be contested, he emphasized that the PDP rejects the outcomes of the elections held on February 25, 2023, in those areas due to the aforementioned legal violations.
Teryila further announced that the PDP has formally requested the cancellation of the results from these local government areas and has submitted a Letter of Protest to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to this effect. Additionally, the party has instructed its Legal Department to approach the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal and the National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal, both located in Makurdi, to challenge the announced results from these areas.
It is worth noting that the PDP in Benue State was divided prior to the elections. While the state governor, Samuel Ortom, directed his supporters to vote for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the three senators from the state—Gabriel Suswam, Orker Jev, and Abba Moro—as well as the national chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, urged voters to support the PDP and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Furthermore, the party has dismissed rumors suggesting that its gubernatorial candidate had withdrawn from the race.
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