Two Benue senators lose APC primaries as Suswam, Aber, Agbo win

The National Assembly Electoral Committee in Benue State has announced the results of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary elections held on Monday, 18th May 2026, across the state’s three senatorial districts. Two of the three incumbent senators lost their seats.

According to the declaration by the Chairman of the National Assembly Committee, Sabiu Mahuta, the two incumbent senators from Zones A and B lost their seats.

BusinessDay reports that Emmanuel Udende, the incumbent senator representing Benue North East Senatorial District, Zone A, lost his seat to Gabriel Suswam, former governor of the state. Titus Zam, incumbent senator representing Benue North West Senatorial District, Zone B, lost to Benjamin Aber, a new aspirant.

In Benue South Senatorial District, Zone C, Francis Agbo of the APC won the senatorial primary election overwhelmingly and emerged as the party’s candidate for the forthcoming election in Zone C. The incumbent for the district is of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Mahuta gave a breakdown of the winners. In Zone A, former governor Suswam polled 131,083 votes, followed closely by Terkula Pepe, while incumbent Emmanuel Udende scored 1,364 votes.

In Zone B, incumbent Titus Zam lost his seat with 2,763 votes to new aspirant Benjamin Aber, who polled 93,412 votes.

In his announcement, Mahuta, the chairman declared Suswam winner of the Benue North East Senatorial District with 131,083 votes. Benjamin Aber of the Benue North West Senatorial District and Francis Agbo were also declared winners with 93,512 and 58,760 votes respectively.

In interviews, some electorate attributed the defeat of the incumbents to abysmal performance and neglect of their constituencies, saying this led to their rejection by the people. They added that the outcome should remind elected officials of the importance of engaging their constituencies.

“What has happened to all the incumbents who have lost out should be an eye-opener to those who have emerged victorious. Anyone who does not recognize us and does not even visit to brief us at least quarterly has themselves to blame,”

Although some aggrieved supporters of the party, who did not want their names in print, alleged irregularities ranging from hijacking of electoral materials to unknown destinations, vote buying, and manipulation of results, they cited these as major issues surrounding the primaries.

In his reaction, Mahuta, the committee chairman, commended the electorate for conducting themselves peacefully before, during, and after the election that produced leaders of their choice. He urged them to remain law-abiding at all times.

He urged all aggrieved members to submit their petitions within 24 hours for onward treatment.

It will be recalled that during the House of Representatives primaries, six incumbents lost out of 11 constituencies, one defected to the Labour Party, and four won.