Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State have staged a peaceful protest at the party’s state secretariat in Jos over the alleged imposition of a candidate in the House of Representatives primary election for the Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam (PKK) Federal Constituency.
The protesters, mostly youths from the constituency, marched to the secretariat carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Protect Internal Democracy,” “Our Votes Must Count,” “Respect Party Structures,” “Justice for PKK Constituency,” and “APC Must Uphold Fairness.”
During the protest, they submitted a petition challenging the outcome of the primary election that produced the incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, as the APC candidate for the 2027 House of Representatives election.
The petition, signed by one of the aspirants, Hon. John Tongshinen Gozhak, on behalf of concerned party members and stakeholders, alleged irregularities in the collation and declaration of the primary election results.
Addressing party officials, the protesters said their action was aimed at seeking justice, transparency and fairness in the party’s internal democratic process, insisting that the APC’s credibility must be protected.
According to the petition, the Plateau APC leadership had officially communicated the names of designated collation officers to all aspirants before the primary election, and those officers successfully collated results from the various voting centres.
However, the petition alleged that officials from the party’s national secretariat later ignored the designated officers and introduced other individuals into the collation process.
“It came as a profound surprise to party members and stakeholders when reports emerged that certain officials or agents deployed from the National Secretariat rejected, displaced or otherwise disregarded the authority of the very officers whose names had earlier been officially communicated by the Plateau State Secretariat,” the petition read.
The aggrieved members argued that the alleged action had raised serious concerns about the credibility of the primary election and the authenticity of the results that declared Gagdi as the party’s candidate.
“If officers duly appointed and communicated by the Plateau State Secretariat can successfully conduct their assignment, collate results and submit same, only for their work to be subsequently disregarded or displaced, then the confidence of party members in the integrity of our internal democratic processes is inevitably undermined,” the petition added.
The protesters called on the APC leadership to immediately review the primary election, investigate the alleged replacement of collation officers, and ensure that the genuine votes cast by party members are accurately reflected in the final outcome.
“We have therefore chosen the path of peace, dialogue, and lawful engagement. Our peaceful protest and presentation of this petition should be understood as an appeal for justice within the party and not as an act of hostility against the APC,” Gozhak said.
They also urged the Plateau APC leadership to uphold the authority of established party structures and restore members’ confidence in the party’s internal democratic process.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Yusuf Adamu Gagdi nor the Plateau State chapter of the APC had officially responded to the allegations contained in the petition.
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