The All Progressives Congress, APC, has reversed the outcome of National Assembly primary elections in Benue State, removing some candidates who emerged from the party’s primaries and replacing them with new nominees.
Among those affected is former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, whose victory in the Benue North East Senatorial primary has been nullified. He has now been replaced by Senator Emmanuel Udende.
The changes were made following the recommendations of the APC Primary Election Appeal Committee and were reflected in the party’s final list of candidates submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The review affected candidates for two senatorial districts and five House of Representatives constituencies in Benue State.
Political observers say the latest decision reverses some of the major victories recorded by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s political camp during the primaries, while restoring several aspirants believed to be loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume.
For the Benue North West Senatorial District, Titus Zam was reinstated as the party’s candidate, replacing Benjamin Aber, husband of the Benue State Secretary to the Government, Deborah Aber.
The APC also announced fresh candidates for five House of Representatives seats. Dickson Tarkighir replaced Christopher Ikper in Makurdi/Guma, Austin Achado took over from Terhemba Nongo in Gwer East/Gwer West, Terser Ugbor replaced Kohol Iormem in Kwande/Ushongo, Sekav Iyortyom displaced Gideon Inyom in Buruku, while Sesoo Ikpagher replaced Livinus Tsar in Vandeikya/Konshisha.
The substitutions were communicated to INEC through a letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru. The party explained that the changes were based on the findings of its Primary Election Appeal Committee.
The development comes about six weeks after the APC primaries, which were widely seen as a significant political victory for Governor Alia in his prolonged rivalry with Akume.
During the House of Representatives primaries held on May 17, 2026, six serving lawmakers believed to be aligned with Akume lost their bids for re-election. They included Austin Achado, Dickson Tarkighir, Terser Ugbor, Sekav Iyortyom and Sesoo Ikpagher. All five have now regained the party’s tickets.
Two days later, on May 19, 2026, Gabriel Suswam defeated incumbent Senator Emmanuel Udende in the Benue North East senatorial primary, while Benjamin Aber emerged ahead of Titus Zam in Benue North West. Those victories were interpreted at the time as evidence of Governor Alia’s growing influence within the Benue APC.
The primaries also rejected proposals for automatic return tickets for serving lawmakers, an idea publicly promoted by Akume during the party’s reconciliation meeting in Makurdi before the primaries.
“We want everybody to have a place. We want inclusiveness in this party,” Akume had said.
Governor Alia rejected the proposal, maintaining that neither President Bola Tinubu nor the APC leadership endorsed automatic tickets.
“What the SGF said was a prayer and not a resolution,” the governor said at the time.
With the revised candidate list now in place, the earlier outcome of the primaries has been significantly altered.
Governor Alia’s camp retained seven major National Assembly tickets, including Francis Agbo (Benue South Senate), Ojotu Ojema (Apa/Agatu), Anthony Agom (Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo), Blessing Onuh (Otukpo/Ohimini), Peter Ogbodo (Oju/Obi), Regina Akume (Gboko/Tarka) and Solomon Wombo (Katsina-Ala/Ukum/Logo).
Following the substitutions, the Akume camp also controls seven National Assembly tickets, including senators Emmanuel Udende and Titus Zam, alongside Austin Achado, Dickson Tarkighir, Sekav Iyortyom, Terser Ugbor and Sesoo Ikpagher in the House of Representatives.
