The outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Assembly primary elections in Benue State has sent a clear message from the electorate: representation is no longer a lifetime appointment, and political survival now hinges on visible performance.
When the dust settled on Monday and Tuesday across the three senatorial districts and 11 federal constituencies where APC held primaries, every single sitting APC senator in Benue had been rejected by the people. In Benue North East (Zone A), former Governor Gabriel Suswam polled 131,083 votes to defeat incumbent Senator Emmanuel Udende, who managed just 1,364 votes. That's not a loss; it's a repudiation.
In Benue North West (Zone B), Retired Assistant Comptroller of Customs Benjamin Aber Terseer, husband of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Deaconess Deborah Aber, secured 93,412 votes to defeat incumbent Senator Titus Zam, who finished with 2,763 votes. Zam didn't just lose; he placed third.
In Benue South (Zone C), former House of Reps member Francis Otta Agbo scored 58,760 votes to take the ticket, leaving Daniel Onjeh with 5,570 and others trailing far behind.
The House of Reps primaries told the same story. Six sitting APC Reps lost their return tickets. In Makurdi/Guma federal constituency, Dickson Tarkighir was floored 37,844 to 1,746 by Christopher Ikper. In Buruku, Sekav Iortyom lost 10,470 to 1,396 to Gideon Inyom. In Kwande/Ushongo, Terseer Ugbo went down 40,672 to 750 for Professor Shadrack Iornem.
This wasn't an accident. It was a verdict.
The complaints were not about party affiliation. They centered on what constituents perceived as low visibility, poor constituency engagement, and a lack of tangible projects or legislative impact that addressed insecurity, youth unemployment, infrastructure decay, and agricultural support—issues that dominate daily life in Benue.
"People voted with their memory," said a party elder in Zone B, Hon Atsenda Ishwa, who participated in the nomination process. "When you don't show up in the villages, when motions and bills don't translate to roads, schools, or security interventions, the people notice. Primary elections are the first place they speak."
Many observers note that the APC primaries in Benue were less about internal party factions and more about accountability. For instance, voters expect regular feedback. Absence from constituency functions and minimal town hall interactions created an impression of detachment.
Beyond attending plenary, constituents looked for evidence of motions, bills, and oversight functions that directly addressed Benue's security and economic challenges. Where constituency projects were poorly executed, abandoned, or non-existent, it reinforced the view that the mandate was not being used effectively. In a state grappling with insecurity and humanitarian needs, delayed or absent responses from representatives created dissatisfaction and resentment.
The electorate in Benue has shown it is willing to make changes. If the new candidates think winning the primary is the finish line, they will also be served the same dessert. The general election and the next cycle will be judged on whether they can sustain the people's trust and confidence between now and then.
To avoid repeating the fate of their predecessors, the incoming candidates would do well to:
- Prioritize Constituency Presence: Representation cannot be done remotely. Regular visits and open channels of communication build trust and keep representatives informed of real-time needs. Constituency representation is not done from Abuja hotel rooms. Hold quarterly town hall meetings in every LGA. Let people see you, question you, and hold you accountable.
- Align Legislative Work with Local Needs: Motions and bills should reflect Benue's peculiar challenges, from insecurity to road rehabilitation and agricultural financing. Visible advocacy in Abuja matters to voters at home.
- Ensure Transparent Project Execution: Constituency projects must be properly planned, executed, and monitored. Abandoned or substandard projects damage credibility faster than no projects at all. Track every kobo of constituency funds. The days of ghost projects are over. Publish your constituency project list. Let NGOs and the press track them. One abandoned project will undo 100 speeches.
- Engage Youths: The Benue youth population is politically aware and vocal. Structured engagement with youth groups creates accountability and generates ideas for development.
- Communicate: Even good work goes unnoticed without communication. Regular reports on legislative activities and constituency interventions keep the electorate informed and engaged. The Benue politician, unlike their counterparts in other parts of the country, are generally not media savvy and tend to shy away from the press. Legislate for Benue, not for TV. Benue doesn't need a representative who talks about national issues while his district has no water.
- Fight for Benue in Abuja: Benue is underrepresented in federal appointments, infrastructure, and security deployments. If you can't lobby, negotiate, and fight for your people, then you have no business in the National Assembly.
The primaries noticeably signaled a shift in APC's internal dynamics in Benue. The party's ability to retain power in 2027 will depend on whether its candidates can re-enact the primary election victories. The party already enjoys the goodwill of the Benue masses. It is now left for the winners to formulate manifestoes that will resonate with the people during the electioneering campaigns.
For Governor Hyacinth Alia's administration, the outcome places additional pressure on the party structure to ensure cohesion between the executive and the legislature. A National Assembly caucus that is responsive and effective can collaborate and strengthen the state's ability to attract federal attention and resources. This is one of the grey areas of the outgoing NASS members. Throughout their term in office so far, they have maintained a confrontational, rather than a collaborative, relationship with the state government.
The APC National Assembly primaries in Benue were not decided by money or godfathers alone. They were decided by perception—the perception of performance, presence, and responsiveness. Daily, the electorate are getting more and more enlightened and sophisticated, unlike before. Benue is bleeding from insecurity, collapsed roads, and jobless youth. What did voters see from their representatives in Abuja? Press statements, photo-ops, and excuses. Motions that died on the floor. Constituency projects that existed only on paper. Zero oversight of federal agencies operating in the state. People don't care about your committee chairmanship if your villages are under siege and your markets have no access roads. They don't care about your Abuja connections if you can't pick your calls when terrorists and kidnappers strike in Logo or Kwande.
But the new flagbearers have an opportunity to rewrite the narrative. That opportunity, however, comes with an expiration date. Hopefully, should the winners of the primaries go ahead to represent the people in 2027, the next election is nevertheless closer than it appears, and the electorate have clearly shown that it is watching. "Kasuwa gba, tso u sha gba," goes a Tiv maxim, which means there is definitely going to be another market day after the next market day.
To Gabriel Suswam, Benjamin Aber, Francis Otta Agbo, and every new APC flagbearer: don't mistake this victory for love. Respect the Mandate. You didn't win because you're the smartest. You won because the last man failed. Don't be like him. It was a rejection of the last guy. The same hammer that broke Zam and Udende will break you if you sleep on the job. The people who voted for you are the same people who threw out the incumbents. They are not patient. They are not forgiving. And they are watching.
Their message is simple but very clear: The electorate can no longer be taken for granted under whatever guise. If you deliver, you stay. If you don't, you will be replaced. Period.
Iorpev is the Technical Adviser to the Benue state governor on Media, Publicity and Strategic Communication.
