Attah Ede, Makurdi
Suspended Catholic Priest of Gboko Diocese in Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, on early hours of Sunday, declared winner of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Governorship Primaries in the state.
With the declaration, Fr. Alia has become standard flag bearer of APC and would now fly the party’s flag at the 2023 general elections.
Fr. Alia emerged candidate of the party through the direct method of primary elections as adopted by the party in the state and approved by the national Secretariat of the party.
The suspended priest got a total of 526,807 votes to defeat his closest rival, Dr. Matthias Byuan who pulled 133,816 votes with Dr. Sam Ode scoring 79,369 votes.
The Chairman of the five man Committee for Benue state 2022 Governorship Primaries, Dr. Peter Ojie who announced the results at the APC State secretariat of the party in Makurdi, the State Capital which served as Collation Centre of the primaries, said Alia met all the provision of the electoral act to be declared.
Alia will now face the incumbent Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Titus Uba who is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Gubernatorial candidate for the 2023 general elections.
Fr. Alia contested with twelve (12) other aspirants spread across the two senatorial zones A and C where the contest was zoned.
Chairman of the APC in the state, Comrade Austin Agada described the Party’s governorship primary election as peaceful and transparent and called on Benue people to sustain their support for the party until victory is achieved in 2023.
In his acceptance speech, Fr. Alia thanked God for the opportunity to fly the flag of his party, the APC in the forthcoming 2023 General Elections in the state.
He appreciated the leader of the party in the State and Honorable Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Sen. George Akume, the State Working Committee of the APC under the leadership of Comrade Austin Agada, Local Government Areas and Council Wards Exco of the party and the numerous support groups under the auspices of the Divine Mandate as well as the teeming members of the party who came out in their thousands to exercise their civic responsibility with great hope and enthusiasm.
Fr. Alia said “With great honour and sincerity, I am deeply humbled by your show of love and support which did not come without a cost.
“I am aware that when the nomination exercise could not hold last Thursday as planned due to exigencies beyond our control, it was surprising to discover that our people voluntarily refused to go back home.
“They slept in open spaces across the entire state waiting till the late hours of yesterday to cast their votes. This is a huge sacrifice that must be appreciated. I also lack words to sincerely appreciate all stakeholders in our party across the State for their confidence in my ability to lead our party to victory come 2023.
“Let me at this juncture congratulate
my brothers and co-contestants in this election for their dogged, genuine and competitive contest and determination to lead our party in this very capacity.
“From my heart, I declare ‘No victor, no vanquished.’ I therefore, solicit for unity of purpose to enable us to rescue our good people from the hands of wicked, incompetent and irresponsible leadership.
“I am very sure that if we quickly heal our wounds and work together, our party has started her journey for democratic consolidation in 2023 on a sound note. I also extend this special invitation to all those who are aggrieved in other political parties in the State to join hands with us in the APC in providing credible and desirable leadership to our people.
“Let me once again appreciate the stabilizing role of the State Working Committee led by Comrade Austin Agada. No doubt, Comrade Agada and his State Exco have written their names in Gold in the political annals of this State, being the first in this dispensation to organize the most peaceful and transparent Direct Primaries in BENUE state with overwhelming participation. Mr Chairman Sir, this legacy of transparency and accountability will be faithfully bequeathed into all our political dealings come 2023.
“I am fully aware of the challenges ahead of us as a party and as a people. I want to assure our party leaders and supporters of our burning desire to provide new political leadership in the State, making effective use of our party structures in virtually all the political council wards in the State. We intend to produce new economic development templates, taking cognizance of our past mistakes and economic realities of our time.
“It is easy for us now to capitalize on the inability of the PDP led government to fix the current economic and other challenges confronting our State to clinch all positions in the forth coming general elections. This however requires unity of purpose and team work across all our party structures. We need to show our teeming supporters that deceit and propaganda has nothing to offer for the sustainable development of Benue State.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is not an occasion for making long speeches. However, let me urge our teeming supporters that there is a herculean task ahead of us. We are still very far away from our desired destination. We can only reach our destination safely if all of us have our PVCs. Get your PVCs and vote for Fr Iormem Alia and let the Benue people rest.
“I am very sure that a vote for Fr Alia is vote for rehabilitation and resettlement of the IDPs, a vote for transformation of our agricultural value chain, a vote for youth employment and empowerment, a vote for adequate and timely payment of salaries and pensions, a vote for technical education and skills acquisition, a vote for women participation, a vote for revival of commercial and industrial capacity of the state, a vote for effective transportation and massive expansions in economic infrastructure across the State.
“I once again thank God and our stakeholders for choosing me to lead in salvaging the fortunes of the APC and Benue State at the moment. I urge all of you to vote for the APC in the 2023 general elections to put the government of propaganda to shame”. Alia said.
Should Fr. Alia wins in the 2023 general elections, Benue State will be producing the second governor as a Catholic priest after Fr. Moses Adasu.