The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday declared Rev. Father Hyacinth Iormem Alia of the All Progressive Congress (APC) winner of the March 18 governorship election.
Rev. Alia polled a total of 473,933 votes to beat his closest rival, Engr. Titus Tyoapine Uba of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 223, 913 votes.
The results as announced by the State Returning Officer, Prof. Farouk Kuta of the Federal University of Technology, Minna in Nigeria State said Rev. Alia scored the highest number of votes cast during the election and satisfied the requirement of the election and returned elected.
He announced that the total number of valid vote cast was 756, 903 votes; Rejected Votes 11,499 votes while the Total Votes Cast was 768, 402 votes.
He said, “Hyacinth Iormem Alia of APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected”.
Reacting swiftly to his victory, Rev. Alia commended the people of the state for their support of him, stressing that he is not unaware of the problems confronting the state including the return of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) back to their ancestral homes, payment of salaries to workers and pensioners among others.
Father Alia who commended the leader of the party, Senator George Akume, and the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party, also extended an olive branch to his PDP rival to come and join him in the task of developing Benue State.
