The Benue State Government on Saturday rejected reports claiming that parallel congresses of the All Progressives Congress were held in the state, describing the claim as false. The government responded after a media report suggested that two separate congresses took place during the party’s state gathering earlier in the week.
In a statement issued in Makurdi by the Technical Adviser to the Governor on Media, Publicity and Strategic Communications, Chief Solomon Iorpev, the state government said the report misrepresented what happened during the party’s congress.
The statement also accused a journalist with Leadership Newspaper, Aza Msue, of spreading incorrect information about the event.
According to the government, the gathering reported as a parallel congress did not meet the conditions required for a legitimate party congress. It explained that a congress is a formal political event organised by a party where delegates meet to make decisions about leadership, policies and other party matters. Such gatherings are conducted according to established rules and are monitored by the appropriate authorities.
The government explained that party congresses in Nigeria must take place in the presence of officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission as well as representatives from the party’s National Working Committee. It said that without the presence of these bodies, any political gathering cannot be regarded as a congress but only as a meeting of party members.
Based on this explanation, the state government maintained that only one APC state congress was held in Benue. It said the event took place on March 3, 2026, at IBB Square in Makurdi and was monitored by officials of the electoral commission and representatives from the party’s national leadership.
The statement noted that the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Prof. Sam Egwu, led the officials of the electoral commission who monitored the event. It also stated that the National Working Committee election congress committee, headed by Dr. Auwal Isheye, supervised the process during the gathering.
The government added that the congress held at IBB Square produced Dr. Benjamin Omale as the chairman of the party in the state. It said the event followed the established procedures required for party congresses and therefore remained the only recognised congress conducted by the party in Benue.
The state government criticised a publication that suggested President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would decide which of the alleged congresses should be considered authentic. According to the statement, such a claim was incorrect and misleading because the recognised congress had already been conducted under the supervision of the appropriate authorities.
It stated that the report created a wrong impression about political developments in the state and could cause unnecessary confusion among party members and the public. The government therefore described the claim of a parallel congress as fabricated.
The statement also warned that attempts by some individuals to organise separate political gatherings and present them as official congresses would amount to defiance of the party’s national leadership.
The government further challenged the newspaper and the reporter who published the report to provide proof that the alleged parallel congress was conducted with the presence of officials from the electoral commission and representatives of the party’s National Working Committee.
It maintained that such evidence would be necessary to justify describing the gathering as a congress. Without this requirement, the government said the event should only be regarded as a political meeting and not an official party congress.
The statement concluded by calling for the withdrawal of the report. It added that residents of Benue State would not accept attempts to spread misleading information about political activities in the state.