Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, a suspended priest in the Catholic diocese of Gboko, has clinched the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary rerun in Benue state.
On Thursday, the APC rerun of the governorship primary in Benue state had the priest declared the winner.
Basheer Lado, the chairman of the primary election committee, stated that Alia won the poll with 410,682 votes, ahead of Matthias Byuan, who secured 14,592 votes, and Barnabas Gemade, who got 5,125.
Terhemba Shija placed fourth and Michael Aondoakaa, a former attorney-general of the federation, came fifth.
This result had been a long time coming, as the initial election in May 2022 was challenged and overturned by the court of appeal in January.
The suspended Catholic priest was ultimately declared the winner after a rerun in 11 out of the 28 local government areas in the state.
His victory was met with mixed reactions, with some celebrating the result and others disappointed with the turn of events.
