No fewer than 81 aspirants in Benue are jostling for the 11 tickets of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for House of Representatives seats in the 2027 general elections.

A list of the cleared aspirants sighted by journalists on Saturday in Makurdi indicated that the Vandeikya/Konshisha Federal Constituency has the highest number, with 14 contestants vying for the lone ticket, closely followed by Makurdi/Guma with 12 aspirants.

The Katsina-Ala/Ukum/Logo Constituency has the fewest contestants, with only three aspirants slugging it out for the ticket.

Meanwhile, the APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee in the state says it has successfully distributed the primary election materials across the 23 local government areas.

Sabiu Mahuta, the committee’s chairman, assured the contestants and APC members that the committee remained committed to conducting free, fair and acceptable primaries.

Mr Mahuta apologised for the delay in the commencement of the exercise and attributed it to logistics and security arrangements.

“We promised to be here as early as 6:30 a.m., but due to logistics and security arrangements, we could not come as promised.

“But here we are, though a bit late, but certainly better because we have become more prepared, more organised and more committed,” he said.

The chairman reiterated the committee’s determination to ensure peaceful and transparent primaries in all 23 local government areas of the state.

He said election materials, including certified membership registers and result sheets for wards and local governments, would be distributed to all returning officers.

According to him, only registered APC members whose names appear in the certified party register would be accredited to vote during the exercise.

“The election is going to be for all registered members of the APC.

“We are going to use the register of certified members of APC for each ward for accreditation,” he stated.

Mr Mahuta also directed that all agents of contestants must endorse result sheets before submission and collation to guarantee credibility.

He explained that in constituencies where consensus arrangements had been reached, contestants were expected to submit written letters indicating their withdrawal from the race.

“Before we do affirmations for every seat, we must have a written consensus agreement by all the contestants. That is one of the conditions,” he said.

He warned returning officers against partisanship, stressing that all aspirants remained members of the APC and deserved equal treatment.

“We are not going to tolerate anybody who is coming with anything that would destroy the credibility of this election.

“We are going to be fair to all contestants as far as this election is concerned,” he added.

The chairman further disclosed that where disputes or challenges prevented elections from holding, the committee had established procedures for resolving such issues.

He said the returning officers would return to the collation centre at the end of the exercise for the submission and announcement of results.

Earlier, the APC chairman in Benue, Benjamin Omale, said the party was fully prepared for the exercise.

Mr Omale said the party had made adequate arrangements for logistics and security to ensure free, credible and acceptable primaries.

(NAN)