Finally, Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost Benue North East senatorial election to incumbent Senator Barnabas Gemade of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Prof. Ignatius Ada who announced announced the result at the INEC office in Makurdi at about 12 midnight stated that Gemade polled the highest votes of 140, 715 to defeat Suswam who polled a total of 118, 603 votes with a wide margin of 22, 112.
Daily Sun gathered that five candidates contested the election on various political platforms, but Gemade, a former chairman of the ruling PDP who defected to the APC shortly after he lost the PDP primaries defeated them all.
Meanwhile, Suswam has passed a vote of no confidence on the Resident Commissioner (REC) of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in charge of the state, Prof. Istifanus Dafwang and called for his removal.
“I have no confidence in the REC because he is obviously biased. We don’t want him to stay here and conduct the subsequent elections. If Prof. Jega refuses to change him, then, we will have to take a legal action.”
Suswam who spoke in Makurdi yesterday insisted that the Commissioner, in active connivance with his co-contestant, Senator Gemade of the All Progressives Congress deprived him of victory in the Benue North East Senatorial election.
The Governor who lamented the cancellation of results of three wards in Logo as well as in nine polling units in Mbadede ward of Vandeikya local government areas respectively said the number of voters in these areas were about 128,000 adding that if the results had not been cancelled, he would have defeated Gemade squarely.
“By the result that was announced by INEC, Gemade was said to have won by only 22,000 votes while the results that were cancelled were from areas where the PDP is strong is 128,000. The INEC REC refused to cancel result of four wards in Konshisha despite objection raised by my agent. So, I suspect a foul play. the Commissioner is highly compromised and we no longer have confidence in him here.
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