APC’s Jime Rejects Benue Governorship Election Result, Heads To Court

The governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Benue State, Mr Emmanuel Jime, has rejected the outcome of the poll.

Mr Jime faulted the result on Sunday shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Samuel Ortom as the winner of the keenly contested poll.

He told Channels Television in Makurdi, the state capital that he would challenge the governor’s victory in court.

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The APC candidate explained that he would approach the Election Petition Tribunal to reclaim his allegedly stolen mandate by Governor Ortom who contested the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He alleged that a lot of votes secured by the governor were in clear violation of the Electoral Act, stressing that only votes captured by the card reader should be allowed.

Jime insisted that he won the poll and accused the PDP of “massive rigging” during the supplementary election which held on March 23 after INEC had declared the initial exercise inconclusive.

The Returning Officer for the election, Professor Maimako Sebastian, had announced that Governor Ortom won the election at the collation centre in Makurdi.

According to him, the PDP candidate polled 434,473 votes to defeat his APC rival who got 345,155 votes, with a lead margin of 89,318 votes.