BENUE STATE GOVERNMENT REJECTS FALSE NARRATIVE ON PARALLEL CONGRESSES, DEMANDS RETRACTION OF DELIBERATE MISLEADING CAMPAIGN
By Sugar Precious, Pan Afric Reporters
The Benue State Government has strongly rejected reports suggesting that a parallel congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took place in the state, describing the claim as false, misleading, and a deliberate attempt to create confusion within the ruling party.
In a statement issued by Chief Solomon Iorpev, Technical Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Media, Publicity and Strategic Communications, the government specifically faulted an article authored by Aza Msue in Leadership News paper alleging that a parallel APC congress was held in Benue State.
Iorpev maintained that the report failed to distinguish between a legitimate party congress and an ordinary political gathering, stressing that only one valid APC state congress took place in Benue.
According to him, a party congress is a formal gathering of party delegates conducted under strict guidelines, including the presence of officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and representatives of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). Without these statutory requirements, he said, any gathering cannot be regarded as a congress.
The government explained that the only recognized APC state congress in Benue was held on March 3, 2026, at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Square in Makurdi. The exercise, it said, was monitored by INEC officials led by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Sam E Sam Egwu, while the NWC Election Congress Committee was chaired by Auwal Isheye.
The congress, according to the statement, produced Dr. Benjamin Omale as the state chairman of the APC.
“The facts are clear. There was only one APC state congress in Benue State. It was conducted at IBB Square, Makurdi, in the presence of INEC officials and representatives of the National Working Committee,” the statement said.
The government further argued that any other gathering held elsewhere without INEC and NWC representatives could only be described as a meeting and not a congress.
It also dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would determine the authentic congress, insisting that the party’s national leadership had already recognized the Omale-led State Working Committee.
According to the statement, the APC National Working Committee led by Nantawe Yilwatda had acknowledged the outcome of the congress and continued to engage with the Omale-led leadership in the state.
The Benue government described attempts by some individuals to stage what it called a “parallel congress” as an act of rebellion against the party’s national leadership and an affront to the authority of the APC.
It therefore challenged Msue and Leadership Newspaper to provide evidence showing that the alleged parallel congress had the presence of both INEC and NWC officials — the two conditions it said are mandatory for any legitimate party congress.
“If such evidence cannot be provided, the publication must immediately retract the false report,” the government said.
The statement warned that the people of Benue State would not tolerate attempts to mislead the public or create unnecessary political tension through what it described as unfounded reports.
