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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Yion Development Association (YIDA), umbrella body of the Mbayion people in Gboko Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of misrepresenting facts concerning the ongoing delineation of restored constituencies in the area.
In a statement signed by the association’s President, Orver Yongu, and Secretary, Tersoo Ivarave, which was made available to newsmen in Makurdi, YIDA expressed shock over claims allegedly made by the Benue State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) that communities in Mbayion resisted the constituency restoration process.
The two leaders, in the statement, cited a report quoting INEC as saying that they “encountered setbacks in Gboko Local Government Area, particularly in Mbatyu and Gboko North-West Registration Areas and Council Wards, due to what they described as non-compliance by the affected communities. The REC stated that the challenges in Gboko made it impossible for the Commission to complete the restoration process in the area within the stipulated timeframe.”
The group said the allegation was not only misleading but also unfair to the people of Mbayion.
YIDA maintained that the actual disruption occurred in Ipav and not Mbayion, saying that on May 8, 2026, some youths from Ipav violently chased INEC officials away from Gboko East and Gboko South council wards during the delineation exercise.
According to the statement, the affected INEC staff reportedly fled to the Gboko Central Police Station for safety, while security operatives, including the Divisional Police Officer of the A Division Police Station, intervened to restore calm.
The association further explained that the restored Gboko East State Constituency comprises 12 council wards, including six from Mbayion, three from Ipav and two from Yandev, while the Gboko East council ward is shared between Mbayion and Ipav.
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YIDA argued that the disagreement stemmed from demands by the Ipav bloc for a separate constituency despite controlling only three council wards, while the remaining nine and a half wards from Mbayion and Yandev would be merged.
The group described the arrangement being proposed as illogical and inconsistent with considerations such as population and land mass.
The group said stakeholders from Mbayion, Ipav and Yandev had earlier met and jointly agreed on the delineation process, with all parties signing a document to that effect before the alleged attack on INEC officials occurred.
The association also stressed that INEC was merely restoring the old Gboko Town (Central) Constituency, which it claimed had existed before being suppressed in 1983 during the Second Republic, and not creating an entirely new constituency.
According to YIDA, some of the components currently highlighted by INEC were not part of the original constituency structure, thereby raising concerns among stakeholders.
While reaffirming support for the restoration of the constituency, YIDA said the Mbayion people were only opposed to what it termed unfair and manipulative delineation.
While the group insisted that the Mbayion people are known to be very peaceful, welcoming and accommodating, they said, “Painting us as aggressors is unfair. We thus have no choice than to put the records straight for posterity.”
They therefore called on INEC and the public to disregard the misleading information and urged the electoral body to revisit the matter in the interest of justice and equity.
