Breaking: PDP loses as Tribunal affirms Hyacinth Alia as winner of Benue guber

The Benue State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Makurdi, has affirmed the election of All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor Hyacinth Alia.

The panel dismissed the appeal of the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Titus Uba, challenging the March 18 election for lack of jurisdiction.

The chairman of the three-judge panel, Justice Ibrahim Karaye, ruled that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction to hear the appeal since the issues cited are pre-election matters, as defined in Section 285 of the Electoral Act.

The tribunal based its decision on the fact that the petitioner should have pursued its case of non-qualification and the nomination of Governor Alia by the APC, as well as the allegation of forged certificate and false information on form EC9 against his deputy, Sam Ode, beyond the Federal High Court, which dismissed the earlier suit filed by the petitioner to the Court of Appeal and not the tribunal, before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to the INEC results released after the March election, Alia, a Catholic priest, received 473,933 votes more than his nearest challenger, Uba, who received 223,913.