- APC Members Protest Candidate Imposition in Plateau Reps Primary
- Protesters demanded investigation into alleged replacement of designated collation officers.
- Aggrieved members called for fairness and transparency before the 2027 elections.
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 including “Protect Internal Democracy,” “Our Votes Must Count,” “Respect Party Structures,” “Justice for PKK Constituency,” and “APC Must Uphold Fairness.”]
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the demonstrators also submitted a petition challenging the outcome of the primary election that returned the incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, as the APC candidate for the 2027 House of Representatives election.
The petition was signed by one of the aspirants, Hon. John Tongshinen Gozhak, on behalf of concerned party members and stakeholders.
Addressing party officials during the protest, the aggrieved members said they were demanding justice, fairness and transparency in the party’s internal democratic process.
They maintained that protecting the integrity of the APC was crucial ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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 protesters alleged that officials from the party’s national secretariat later disregarded 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 stated.
The protesters argued that the alleged replacement of collation officers had cast doubt on the credibility of the primary election and the authenticity of the results that produced 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 aggrieved members called for an immediate review of the primary election and a thorough investigation into the alleged alteration of the collation process.
They also urged the party leadership to ensure that the genuine votes cast by members were protected and accurately reflected in the final results.
Gozhak said the protesters chose a peaceful approach because of their commitment to the APC.
“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,” he said.
The petitioners further appealed to the Plateau APC leadership to uphold 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.
