Late arrival and alleged hijack of election materials disrupted the All Progressives Congress National Assembly primaries in parts of Benue State on Saturday.
It was gathered that election materials meant for some federal constituencies, including Makurdi/Guma and Gwer East/Gwer West, were allegedly hijacked during distribution at the party secretariat in Makurdi.
Sources within the party told our correspondent that the incident affected the smooth conduct of the primaries in several areas.
One of the party chieftains, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that some of the materials were taken away by suspected party members loyal to the state government.
“You know that the election materials were distributed at the party secretariat in Makurdi with only the faction loyal to Governor Alia present at the venue.
“Even the election materials meant for Makurdi/Guma federal constituency were hijacked until the issue was taken to the police headquarters before it was settled,” the source said.
Our correspondent also learnt that election materials arrived late in some local government areas located far from the state capital, delaying the commencement of the exercise.
Confirming the development to our correspondent on Saturday, the publicity secretary of the Agada-led faction of the APC in the state, Daniel Ihomun, said reports of hijacked materials and delayed distribution were received from some areas.
He said, “It’s true we heard that election materials were hijacked in some local government areas, particularly Makurdi. The case was settled at the command headquarters.
“There was a report of the late arrival of election materials in some areas that are far away, the election will be held in some areas, and there is going to be consensus in other areas.”
As of the time of filing this report, election materials were yet to reach some distant local government areas, including Kwande and Logo.
However, the Chairman of Agatu Local Government Area, Melvin Ejeh, told our correspondent via telephone around 6:15 pm that voting had been concluded in his area.
Efforts to get the reaction of the publicity secretary of the Benjamin Omale-led APC faction loyal to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Benedict Yawe, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee in Benue State, Alhaji Sabiu Mahuta, attributed the delay in the distribution of election materials to logistical challenges while addressing returning officers on Saturday.
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