In Benue State, the Peoples Democratic Party has promised to challenge the results of last Saturday’s election at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal.
The state’s ruling party, which ran in the presidential and National Assembly elections, lost two senatorial seats and ten Federal House of Representatives seats to the All Progressive Congress.
Speaking to journalists at the party secretariat on Otukpo Road in Makurdi on Friday, the acting chairman of the PDP in the state, Isaac Teryila, said the party would challenge the results of some local government areas due to what he called violations of existing laws.
“PDP in Benue State rejects the outcome of both the Presidential and National Assembly elections held in certain local government areas of Benue State on February 25, 2023, for the reason of the breaches of law cited above,” Teryila said.
“Our great party calls for the cancellation of the results returned from those local government areas and has duly forwarded a Letter of Protest to INEC to that effect.
“We have equally mandated our Legal Department to approach the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal and the National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal both sitting in Makurdi to challenge the results of the elections in those local government areas as returned and announced by INEC.
Recalled that PDP in the state was divided prior to the election, while the state governor, Samuel Ortom, had directed his supporters to vote for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, the three Senators in the state—Gabriel Suswam, Orker Jev and Abba Moro—as well as the national chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, had called on the people to vote for the party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The party also dispelled the rumour that its gubernatorial candidate had stepped down.