Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a crisis is developing within the All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter in Benue State as a result of Daniel Onyirofie Onjeh, one of the senatorial candidates, rejecting the party’s purported endorsement of former lawmaker Francis Ottah Agbo as its preferred candidate for Benue South.
Benue South is one of the important districts anticipated to generate candidates for the 2027 elections, according to reports that the APC is holding its senatorial primaries across the nation today.
On Saturday night, however, rumors surfaced that Prince Moses Ternenge, a close ally of Governor Hyacinth Alia, had supposedly supported Ottah Agbo as the favored candidate for the Benue South senatorial seat.
After losing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in 2022, Ottah Agbo, a former member of the House of Representatives, joined the APC.
Later, his defection made it possible for Philip Agbese to join the APC before switching to the Labour Party.
In response to the incident, Onjeh criticized Prince Moses Ternenge, a politician from Benue North East Senatorial District (Zone A), for allegedly meddling in the political affairs of Benue South Senatorial District (Zone C) in a video that was uploaded on his Facebook page.
He claims that Benue South has enough competent people to decide its own political course free from foreign interference.
Onjeh stated, “Benue South, Zone C, with its array of professors and academic doctors, cannot be forced to accept a senatorial candidate by Prince Moses Ternenge, a Tiv man from Benue North East, Zone A.”
The APC leader also made fun of an unidentified candidate who was purportedly positioned as the party’s “anointed candidate.”
He charged that the candidate had switched from the PDP to the APC without bringing any grassroots backing or political structure.
The assertion made by certain candidates that they are the chosen candidate is even more absurd. He said, “The person came to the APC with no followers from his previous party, the PDP, and hopes to reap where he did not sow.”
Onjeh went on to say that the race for the Benue South senatorial ticket shouldn’t jeopardize the political networks and supporters that have been established over time.
He continued, saying, “You cannot come and rest on the followership that others have built over the years to run the senatorial race.”
Hon. Dr. Philip “Okanga” Agbese, a transformative leader in Enone. Discover his achievements, community projects, and vision for 2027
