Former Benue State governor, Gabriel Torwua Suswam, on Thursday insisted that there is no manipulation in the ongoing All Progressives Congress, APC, primary elections in Benue State.

Suswam emerged winner of the Benue North East, Zone A, APC Senatorial Primary election after polling 131,083 votes.

Suswam defeated his closest rival and incumbent senator, Emmanuel Memga Udende, in the primary election conducted across Katsina-Ala, Logo, Ukum, Konshisha, Vandeikya, Kwande and Ushongo.

Following his defeat, Udende had claimed that the primary election process was manipulated.

However, Suswam anchored his victory on his acceptance by the people of his constituency and not due to electoral manipulation.

Featuring on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Suswam said: “A lot of us when we lose elections we raise all kinds of issues. You create an exception by trying to divide the party in Benue along the line of the SGF who is our father here and the governor. Like I said, there was a comprehensive reconciliation that took place.

“Let me come back to the nomination process. Direct primaries is one that you must be somebody who is on ground because it is done in each and every ward and you partaking in the contest can’t be in all the wards.

“In my zone we have 84 wards and I could only go to my ward in my village and stay there.

So for you to win direct primaries, you must be somebody who is acceptable by the majority of your constituents. It’s a likelihood for people who are not on the ground to say that they were shortchanged, I don’t think that anybody was shortchanged.

“This thing took place simultaneously in all the wards, I wasn’t in all the wards, I was only in my ward out of the 84 that constitutes my constituency so I didn’t know what was happening in other wards. So why would somebody now say that in all the 84 wards it was manipulated. Manipulated how?

“There is no manipulation, direct primaries clearly show that this is the person we want in the state because there is no election process in this country that does not come with complaints. People will complain.”