The parallel ward congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) organised by factions loyal to Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, have ended in Benue State, with both camps announcing separate ward executives across the 23 local government areas.
The exercise, conducted on Wednesday, produced differing outcomes as the Comrade Austin Agada-led structure aligned with Akume declared that existing ward executives were reaffirmed for another four-year term.
State Publicity Secretary of the faction, Daniel Ihomun, said the congress was peaceful and in line with directives from the party's national secretariat.
Ihomun congratulated the affirmed executives and urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them by party members.
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On the other hand, the faction loyal to Governor Alia under the chairmanship of Chief Benjamin Omale announced that new ward executives emerged through a consensus arrangement.
Spokesperson of the caretaker committee aligned with the governor, James Ornguga, said the tenure of previous ward, local government and state executives had expired, making fresh elections necessary.
Ornguga dismissed claims of reaffirmation, stating that no guideline permitted automatic return of former executives as he stressed that, ward executives' tenure ended in July 2025, local government executives in September 2025, and state executives on February 8, 2026, making fresh elections inevitable.
Meanwhile, both factions insisted that their processes complied with party guidelines, a development which leaves the Benue chapter of the APC with parallel structures at the grassroots level following the concluded ward congresses.
