From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
The APC in Benue State said 12 aspirants would be participating in the governorship re-run billed to be held in 137 council wards of the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state in which the re-run.
The State Organising Secretary, James Ornguga disclosed this while fpspeaking newsmen in Makurdi shortly after receiving the Chairman and members of the rescheduled primary elections Committee at the APC secretariat on Thursday.
Earlier, The National leadership of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), has constituted, a five-man Benue State Governorship Rescheduled Primary Elections Committee to conduct the governorship re-run of the party in the state.
The Five-man Committee is led by Senator Basheer Lado with members of the Committee are Baba Liman, Yakubu Adamu and Ahmed Attah, while Margaret Duru is to serve as Secretary of the Committee.
Ornguga explained that initially, 13 aspirants contested during the primary election proper, adding that one of the aspirants, Mr Herman Hembe, has defected to the Labour Party, (LP).
The party Chairman, Austin Agada, the State Chairman of APC in Benue who corroborated the report of the Organising Secretary explained that some of the aspirants have declared their intents to withdraw from the contest and support Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia.
He however pointed out that even though the national secretariat of the party had accepted their decision, it directed the affected aspirants to declare their intentions to withdraw from the race in writing.
Agada the State APC Chairman appreciated members of the party for keeping faith with the APC.
He assured APC members in the affected LGAs that adequate security has been provided by the relevant security agencies and the electoral body to ensure their safety.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Five-man Committee, Senator Basheer Lado, said the re-run primaries would be conducted in 137 wards of the 11 LGAs of the state.
Speaking through a member of the Committee, Baba Liman, he said the elections would be by direct primaries and expressed hope that the results would be announced by midnight on Thursday.