Benue LG polls: Leading female candidate alleges election fraud, calls for cancellation

Rev (Mrs) Azumi Elaigwu, a prominent female candidate in Saturday’s local government elections in Benue State, has alleged gross misconduct by officials of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) to favor the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Agatu Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

Rev Elaigwu, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) chairmanship candidate, alongside her running mate, Mrs. Justina Ali, expressed deep frustration over what she described as the “most blatant disregard for the electoral process.”

According to her, the election was marred by malpractices, and her mandate was “stolen in broad daylight.”

In an interview on Monday with newsmen, Elaigwu revealed that despite leading in most polling units where voting occurred, BSIEC officials hurriedly declared the APC candidate the winner before all votes were cast or counted.

She said there was no collation of results at the ward or LGA levels, and the announcement of the APC candidate’s victory happened behind closed doors.

“The election in Agatu LGA for example, was anything but credible, a number of polling units in Odugbeho, Enungba and Oshugbudu, were not supplied with ballot boxes, thugs snatched ballot boxes in wards like Usha and Okokolo.

“While these are all typical of elections in Nigeria, the biggest shocker was when a winner was announced in a closed door meeting around past 3pm when less than 30% of the results had arrived at the collation center.

“I started receiving calls from polling agents reporting ballot box snatching, and while trying to notify security agents, I discovered the Electoral Officer was in a closed-door meeting.

“I was denied entry but managed to get in, only to witness the APC candidate being declared the winner despite results still being tallied,” Elaigwu lamented.

The APGA candidate also pointed out widespread irregularities in Agatu LGA, particularly in polling units across Odugbeho, Enungba, and Oshugudu, where ballot boxes were not delivered, and violence disrupted the process.

She questioned why Governor Hycient Alia had promised credible elections if such practices were to occur, and called for the immediate cancellation of the results.

Mrs. Justina Ali, the APGA vice-chairmanship candidate, supported these claims, stating that only 2 out of 17 polling units in Usha Ward saw voting.

She was equally shocked when the APC candidate was declared the winner despite missing results from several wards.

Other election observers, including Mr. Hamidu Aminu and Mr. Baba Akubo, confirmed irregularities, noting the absence of ballot boxes in several polling units.

They urged Governor Alia to ensure that the will of the people prevails, and called on international organizations, including UN Women, to defend democracy and support women’s political participation in Nigeria.

The Benue State LG elections, which saw the APC win all 23 chairmanship seats and 276 councilorship positions, have faced widespread criticism amid claims of election irregularities across the state.