The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State has said the Supreme Court verdict which affirmed the re-election of Governor Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was a missed opportunity for Benue to witness true transformation in all strata.

State Publicity Secretary of APC James Ornguga, in a statement, said their governorship candidate, Barrister Emmanuel Jime, would have offered services to enable the development of the state except that he was robbed of his victory at the 2019 polls.

“Sequel to the declaration of election results last year, which in the party’s estimation did not reflect the true voting position of the Benue electorate, APC genuinely interrogated PDP’s victory which in all rational parametres was foisted on the state amidst helpless gnashing of teeth.

“Our team of lawyers professionally explored available legal windows from the tribunal, appellate court and the Supreme Court in frantic attempts to recover the mandate that we still believe our party won but was short-changed.

“The Benue emancipation project has just been temporarily delayed but will be actualized in 2023 on the APC platform, despite the long walk through the desert of poor leadership as being offered by the present Benue State government,” the party said.