By Peter Duru, Makurdi

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured a landslide victory in the Benue State local government elections held on Saturday, winning all 23 chairmanship positions and 276 councillorship seats.

The elections were conducted by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC).

Announcing the results on Sunday at the commission’s headquarters in Makurdi, BSIEC Chairman Mr. Richard Tombowua confirmed that the APC achieved a clean sweep of the polls, which were contested by five out of the eight political parties that had initially expressed interest.

Tombowua stated that the elections were largely peaceful, with no major incidents reported, except in Otukpo Local Government Area, where a BSIEC official was briefly held hostage. Thanks to the swift intervention of the police, the official was safely returned to Makurdi.

“The APC won all 23 local government chairmanship positions and all 276 councillorship positions in the election,” Tombowua said.

He added, “Eight political parties had initially indicated interest in fielding candidates, but only five—APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Labour Party (LP), and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)—participated in the election.”

Tombowua explained that the delay in announcing the results was due to the logistical challenges and distance involved in collating votes across the state. He reiterated that BSIEC fulfilled its commitment to conducting a peaceful, free, fair, and credible local government election.

Reacting to the outcome, the State Chairman of the Labour Party and Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr. Ibrahim Idoko, praised BSIEC for its efforts in ensuring a peaceful and credible election.

Similarly, the State Chairman of APC, Mr. Benjamin Omale, commended the electoral body for conducting a free and fair election. He also expressed gratitude to Governor Hyacinth Alia for providing a level playing field for all parties during the electoral process.